OURLirttS.ENGUSH  COUSIN 


BLANCHE  WcMANUS 


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Our   Little   English   Cousin 


THE 

Little  Cousin  Series 

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Our  Little  African  Cousin 
Our  Little  Alaskan  Cousin 

By  Mary  F.  Nixon-Roulet 

Our  Little  Arabian  Cousin 

By  Blanche  McManus 

Our  Little  Armenian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Australian  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Brazilian  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Brown  Cousin 
Our  Little  Canadian  Cousin 

By  Elizabeth  R.  MacDonald 

Our  Little  Chinese  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Cuban  Cousin 
Our  Little  Dutch  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Egyptian  Cousin 

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Our  Little  English  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Eskimo  Cousin 
Our  Little  French  Cousin 

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Our  Little  German  Cousin 
Our  Little  Greek  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Hindu  Cousin 

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Our  Little  Indian  Cousin 
Our  Little  Irish  Cousin 
Our  Little  Italian  Cousin 
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Our  Little  Jewish  Cousin 
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Our  Little  Mexican  Cousin 

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All  rights  reserved 


Published  Juns,  1905 
Fifth  Impression,  June,  1909 


Introduction 


The  lives  of  Our  Little  English  Cousins 
are  not  so  widely  different  from  our  own  in 
America.  It  is  only  the  more  ancient  associa- 
tions with  which  they  are  surrounded  that 
changes  their  manners  and  customs. 

Their  speech  is  the  same  and  their  amuse- 
ments and  tasks  are  to  a  great  extent  quite 
similar. 

Certain  details  of  home  life  vary  considerably, 
and  when  they  "  take  their  walks  abroad,"  "  Our 
Little  English  Cousins,"  as  often  as  not,  visit 
some  ancient  historic  shrine  from  whose  asso- 
ciations have  been  built  up  the  great  British 
nation. 

Little  English  cousins  and  Little  American 


vi  Introduction 

cousins  alike,  however,  would  have  the  same 
affections  for  the  same  things  were  they  but  to 
change  places,  therefore  things  are  not  so  very- 
different  after  all. 

What  Washington  is  to  America,  London 
is  to  Britain ;  meaning  in  this  case  England, 
Ireland,  and  Scotland  as  well,  for  our  little 
Scotch  and  Irish  cousins  by  no  means  like 
one  to  talk  or  write  of  England  alone  when  one 
really  means  Britain. 

"  Our  Little  English  Cousin "  lives  in  a 
less  rigorous  climate  than  that  which  prevails 
for  the  most  part  in  America.  Their  winters 
are  in  general  not  so  cold  (though  they  are 
quite  as  long)  and  not  usually  so  bright  and 
sunny.  The  summers  are  by  no  means  so  hot 
as  ours  and  are  accordingly  most  delightful. 

The  open-air  pleasures  of  our  English  cou- 
sins, while  existent  in  our  own  country,  are  at 
least  more  general  than  with  us,  and  tea  out- 
of-doors,  in  the  garden,  or  on  the  banks  of  the 


Introduction  vii 

Thames  is  an  institution  which  is  quite  unique, 
and  accordingly,  as  a  summer  divertisement, 
is   greatly  in  vogue. 

The  Associations  which  link  America  with 
England  are  many  and  important ;  indeed  they 
are  so  numerous  that  it  were  futile  to  attempt 
to  give  place  to  any  in  this  introductory  note 
beyond  recalling  to  the  mind  of  little  American 
cousins  that  the  great  Washington  himself 
was  of  a  well-known  English  family  before  they 
settled  in  America. 

To-day,  if  the  English  are  not  emigrating  to 
America  to  the  extent  that  they  formerly  were, 
our  American  cousins  are  returning  the  visits, 
if  only  for  pleasure  or  edification,  in  astonish- 
ingly growing  numbers  each  year. 

All  this  makes  for  a  better  understanding 
and  appreciation  of  each  other  and  cements  the 
growing  friendship  of  years,  which  in  our  pro- 
gressive times  is  a  good  thing  not  to  overlook. 

"  Our  Little  English  Cousin,"  then,  extends 


viii  Introduction 

a  cordial  hand  of  welcome,  not  only  to  her 
cousins  across  the  seas  who  annually  make 
visits  to  her  native  land,  but  to  the  stay-at- 
homes  as  well,  who  have  that  pleasure  in  store 
for  some  future  time. 


Contents 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.    Edith's  Home  on  the  Thames         .        .  i 
II.    A  Day  at  Hampton  Court      .        .        .13 

III.  A  Drive  to  Richmond  and  Kew  Gardens  28 

IV.  With  Tom  at  Windsor  Castle  and  Eton  44 
V.    London  —  Hyde  Park  and  Westminster 

Abbey 54 

VI.     The  Tower  of  London    ....  72 

VII.     Madame  Tussaud's  and  the  Zoo    .        .  80 

VIII.     Henley  Week 89 

IX.     Summer  Holidays 95 

X.    The  Lord  Mayor's  Show         .        .        .  103 


List   of  Illustrations 

♦ 

PAG5 

Edith  .        • Frontispiece 

Oldham  Manor 8 

"  In  a  few  minutes  they  had  landed  n  .15 

Windsor  Castle 50 

"After    watching    other    antics    our    little 
friends  bade  the  'Beefeater'  and  his  pet 

good-bye" 76 

11  She  walked    down   the   path  by  the  river 
Avon  " 96 


>3cdrL/7jY&  ..•**" 


Our  Little   English   Cousin 


CHAPTER  I. 


edith's  home  on  the  Thames 


"  Now  it  is  really  time  to  get  ready,  is  it 
not,  Miss  Green  ? "  exclaimed  Edith,  looking 
up  at  the  clock  for  the  twentieth  time  during 
the  last  half-hour,  and  breaking  off  in  the 
middle  of  the  list  of  English  kings  and 
queens  which  she  was  trying  to  commit  to 
memory.  Which  king  came  after  Henry  III., 
in  that  far-away  time,  seemed  a  small  matter 
compared  to  the  outing  which  she  and  her 
governess  had  planned  to  enjoy  on  the  river 
that  lovely  afternoon. 


2        Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Miss  Green  smiled  indulgently  as  she 
closed  her  book.  "  It  does  seem  a  shame 
to  remain  indoors  a  moment  longer  than  one 
can  help  such  a  day  as  this.  Well,  I  will  see 
Betty  about  the  tea-things  and  pack  them  in 
the  basket  while  you  are  getting  ready." 

You  may  imagine  it  did  not  take  Edith 
long  to  put  away  her  books ;  then  giving  her 
good-natured  governess  a  hug  she  skipped 
off  for  her  hat  and  coat. 

"  There  are  Eleanor  and  Clarence  waiting 
for  us  now/'  cried  Edith,  as  she  and  Miss 
Green,  who  was  carrying  the  tea-basket, 
crossed  the  gardens.  Running  over  the  lawn, 
which  stretched  down  to  the  river,  she  greeted 
her  two  little  playmates  from  the  vicarage. 
All  three  were  bubbling  over  with  glee  at  the 
prospect  of  an  outing  this  bright  June  after- 
noon upon  the  river  Thames.  They  were  to 
go  up-stream  to  a  pretty  little  nook,  in  a  quiet 
"  backwater,"  which  was  a  favourite  spot  with 


Edith's  Home  on  the  Thames     3 

them,  and  have  a  "gipsy"  tea  under  the 
willows. 

The  children  were  soon  seated  on  cushions 
in  the  neat  little  shallow  punt.  Towser,  the 
big  collie  dog,  was  already  in  the  boat,  for  he 
knew  he  was  a  welcome  companion  on  these 
trips. 

Miss  Green,  standing  at  one  end,  poled  the 
boat  gracefully  through  the  water.  This  looks 
like  an  easy  thing  to  do,  but  it  takes  a  great 
deal  of  skill  to  handle  a  punt. 

"  Does  not  the  river  look  gay  ? "  said 
Eleanor.  "  There  are  lots  of  people  out." 
The  river  indeed  was  covered  with  pleasure 
craft  of  all  kinds.  There  is  probably  no  stream 
in  the  world  so  given  up  to  pleasure  as  is  the 
Thames,  which  flows  through  the  very  heart 
of  England ;  indeed  it  has  been  called  the 
"  River  of  Pleasure." 

It  took  all  Miss  Green's  skill  to  steer 
through  the  many  boats   filled  with  gay  par- 


4        Our  Little  English  Cousin, 

ties.  Daintily  fitted  up  rowboats  with  soft- 
cushioned  seats,  the  ladies  in  their  bright 
summer  dresses,  with  parasols  of  gay  colours ; 
the  men  in  white  flannel  suits  and  straw  hats. 
There  were  many  punts  like  their  own.  Also 
tiny  sailboats,  some  of  them  with  bright  red  or 
blue  sails ;  while  every  now  and  then  a  crew 
of  young  men  from  one  of  the  colleges  sculled 
past  them,  practising  for  the  forthcoming  boat- 
race.  All  made  way  for  these  swift  racing 
boats,  for  one  of  the  unwritten  rules  of  the 
river  is  that  boat  crews  must  not  be  interfered 
with  while  practising. 

Occasionally  our  party  in  the  punt  would 
get  the  effect  of  a  gentle  wave  from  an  auto- 
mobile boat  or  a  steam-launch  as  it  rushed  by. 

In  the  midst  of  it  all  were  to  be  seen  the 
swans  gliding  in  and  out  among  the  boats. 
The  Thames  swans  are  as  well  known  as  the 
river  itself.  They  are  very  privileged  birds 
and  directly  under  the  protection  of  the  gov- 


Edith's  Home  on  the  Thames     5 

ernment  itself.  There  are  special  keepers  to 
look  after  them,  and  any  person  who  injured 
a  swan  in  any  way  would  be  punished.  But 
no  harm  ever  happens  to  them,  for  the  lovely 
white  birds  are  great  pets  with  every  one,  and 
the  children  especially  like  nothing  better  than 
to  feed  them. 

Along  the  banks,  under  the  shade  of  over- 
hanging trees,  were  merry  boat-loads  of  family 
parties  making  a  picnic  of  their  afternoon  tea, 
as  our  little  party  intended  to  do. 

You  must  know  that  everybody  in  England 
takes  what  is  called  "  five  o'clock  tea,"  and 
would  no  more  think  of  going  without  their 
tea  in  the  afternoon  than  their  dinner. 

Presently  the  punt  glided  behind  a  clump 
of  trees.  You  would  think  it  was  going  into 
some  one's  garden,  but  out  it  came  into  a  quiet 
bit  of  water,  a  miniature  bay  quite  apart  from 
the  main  river.  This  is  called  a  "  backwater." 
Catching  hold  of  a  tree  with  the  hook  on  the 


6        Our  Little  English  Cousin 

end  of  her  pole,  Miss  Green  brought  the  punt 
up  against  the  bank  under  the  overhanging 
willows,  and  the  young  people  were  quickly 
out  and  on  shore. 

Then  the  tea-basket  was  brought  from  the 
punt.  "  Now,  Clarence,"  said  Miss  Green> 
"you  fill  the  teakettle  while  the  girls  help 
me. 

Their  kettle  was  especially  constructed  for 
these  occasions  with  a  hollow  space  in  the 
bottom  into  which  fits  a  small  spirit-lamp, — . 
this  so  the  wind  cannot  blow  out  the  flame. 

"  My  !  we  have  got  a  jolly  lot  of  cake  \ 
that's  good,"  and  Clarence  looked  very  ap- 
provingly at  the  nice  plum-cake  and  the 
Madeira  cake,  which  is  a  sort  of  sponge  cake 
with  slices  of  preserved  citron  on  top  of  it,  — 
a  favourite  cake  for  teas. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  water  boiled  in  spite 
of  everybody  watching  it  attentively,  and  Miss 
Green  filled  the  teapot.     Then  they  all  gath- 


Edith's  Home  on  the  Thames     7 

ered  around  the  dainty  cloth  spread  on  the 
grass,  and  the  slices  of  bread  and  butter,  known 
as  "cut  bread  and  butter,"  and  the  lovely 
strawberry  jam  quickly  disappeared. 

"Why  do  we  always  eat  more  out-of-doors,0 
said  Edith,  "  than  when  we  are  indoors  eating 
in  the  proper  way  ?  I  suppose  it  is  because 
we  are  doing  it  for  fun  that  it  seems  different 
from  tea  in  the  schoolroom." 

"  Perhaps  the  fresh  air  has  more  to  do  with 
it  than  anything  else,"  laughed  Miss  Green,  as 
she  cut  them  the  sixth  piece  of  cake  all  around. 

"Now  you  rest,  Miss  Green,  and  we  will 
pack  up  everything,"  said  Eleanor. 

"Yes,  and  let's  wash  up  the  tea-things.  It 
will  be  fun,"  said  Edith,  "  and  Betty  will  be 
surprised." 

So  the  little  girls  amused  themselves  with 
their  housekeeping,  while  Clarence  and  Tow- 
ser  ran  races  up  and  down  the  greensward 
until  it  was  time  to  return. 


8        Our  Little  English  Cousin 

The  sun  was  setting  when  they  pulled  up  at 
the  steps  of  their  boat-landing  where  Colonel 
and  Mrs.  Howard,  Edith's  parents,  were  sit- 
ting in  comfortable  wicker  garden-chairs,  wait- 
ing for  them. 

Oldham  Manor,  Edith's  home,  was  a  fine 
old  house  built  in  the  "  Tudor  "  style,  of  red 
brick  with  stone  doorways  and  windows,  and 
quaint,  tall,  ornamental  chimneys,  with  the 
lower  story  entirely  covered  with  ivy. 

Colonel  Howard  was  a  retired  army  officer 
who  had  seen  much  service  in  far-away  India. 
He  had  to  leave  the  army  on  account  of  his 
health,  and  now  devoted  himself  to  his  wife 
and  two  children,  and  his  lovely  home.  Mrs. 
Howard  herself  was  a  handsome  and  stately 
woman,  rather  reserved  in  her  manner,  but 
devoted  to  her  children. 

Tom,  Edith's  brother,  was  at  school  at 
Eton  College,  so  Edith  had  a  double  share  of 
petting,  and  led  a  very  happy  existence  with 


OLDHAM    MANOR 


Edith's  Home  on  the  Thames     9 

plenty  of  work  and  plenty  of  play.  She  had 
a  pretty  little  room,  with  a  little  brass  bed, 
and  an  old-fashioned  chest  of  drawers  for  her 
clothes.  The  little  dressing-table,  which  stood 
in  front  of  one  of  the  windows,  was  draped 
with  pink-flowered  muslin,  and  the  window 
curtains  were  of  the  same  material.  The 
chairs  were  covered  with  a  bright,  pretty  pink, 
green,  and  white  chintz,  and  the  carpet  was 
pale  green  with  pink  roses. 

From  the  window  of  this  delightful  room, 
one  overlooked  the  rose-garden.  Adjoining 
was  the  schoolroom,  a  big  room  where  Miss 
Green  and  Edith  spent  much  of  their  time. 

Edith  usually  dressed  quickly,  for,  when  the 
weather  was  fine,  she  and  her  papa  always  took 
a  walk  around  the  gardens  before  breakfast. 
Colonel  Howard  was  very  proud  of  his  roses, 
and  the  rose  garden  of  the  manor  was  quite 
famous ;  many  of  the  rose-bushes  were  trained 
to  form  great  arches  over  the  walks. 


io      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Another  hobby  of  Colonel  Howard's  was 
his  fancy  chickens  and  ducks,  of  which  he  had 
a  great  variety.  Edith  had  her  pet  chickens, 
too,  and  she  and  her  papa  could  never  agree  as 
to  whose  chickens  were  the  finest,  when  they 
went  to  feed  them  in  the  morning. 

Edith  would  run  each  morning  into  the 
breakfast-room,  a  bright-faced  little  girl  with 
sparkling  blue  eyes  and  golden  brown  hair 
tied  up  with  a  pink  ribbon  and  waving  loosely 
over  her  shoulders  — as  all  English  girls  wear 
their  hair  until  they  are  quite  young  ladies. 
Her  dress  was  very  simply  made,  and  around 
the  neck  was  a  pink  ribbon  —  pink  was  her 
favourite  colour  —  tied  in  a  bow.  There  was 
a  "good-morning  kiss"  for  mamma,  and  Edith 
must  help  to  fasten  the  rose  in  her  hair,  which 
Colonel  Howard  always  brought  his  wife. 

Edith  had  a  good  appetite  for  her  breakfast 
of  porridge  and  cream,  milk,  eggs  and  toast, 
or   fish,  or  perhaps  grilled    kidneys   and   to- 


Edith's  Home  on  the  Thames  1 1 

matoes,  which  is  a  favourite  English  breakfast 
dish  and  very  good  indeed.  Always  she  fin- 
ished with  marmalade. 

Breakfast  over,  then  came  the  lessons  in  the 
schoolroom  until  one  o'clock,  when  Edith  and 
Miss  Green  had  their  dinner  served  to  them 
here.  After  dinner  she  was  free  to  walk  or 
drive  with  her  papa  and  mamma,  or  Miss 
Green,  or  play  games  with  her  little  friends  in 
the  neighbourhood.  Then  for  an  hour  in  the 
afternoon  Edith  studied  her  lessons  for  the 
next  day,  curled  up  on  the  big  green  sofa  near 
the  window,  while  Miss  Green  read  or  sewed 
beside  her,  ready  to  help  her  out  with  a  hard 
word.  Finally  she  had  tea  with  Miss  Green 
in  the  schoolroom  at  six  o'clock,  and  soon 
after  this  was  ready  for  bed. 

Thursday  was  a  red-letter  day  for  Edith,  for 
in  the  afternoon  she  always  took  tea  with 
mamma  and  papa  in  state,  in  the  drawing-room. 
This  was  so  that  she  should  learn  how  to  go 


12      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

through  with  it  in  the  proper  manner,  which 
is  a  very  important  part  of  a  little  English 
girl's  education.  Mamma  received  her  just  as 
if  she  was  a  grown-up  lady  visitor,  while  Edith 
put  on  her  real  "  company "  manners,  and 
Colonel  and  Mrs.  Howard  often  could  scarcely 
repress  a  smile  at  her  great  dignity  when  she 
began  the  conversation  with,  "  It's  a  charming 
day,  is  it  not."  "  I  take  two  lumps  of  sugar 
only,  thank  you."  Rainy  afternoons  she  often 
worked  on  fancy  articles  for  the  bazaars  held 
by  the  Children's  League  of  Mercy.  Edith 
was  a  member,  and  the  money  from  the  sales 
was  given  to  help  the  very  poor  children  in 
their  neighbourhood.  So  the  little  girl's  days 
passed  pleasantly  enough,  as  you  may  imagine. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A    DAY    AT    HAMPTON    COURT 

"  No,  Towser,  you  can't  come  with  us  ;  you 
know  you  will  not  be  allowed  to  go  into  the 
palace,  and  what  should  we  do  with  you  then," 
said  Edith,  patting  him  on  the  head,  as  she 
closed  the  gate  and  left  poor  doggie  looking 
wistfully  after  them. 

Edith  had  been  looking  forward  to  a  visit  to 
Hampton  Court  for  some  time.  Her  mamma 
had  promised  that  she  could  invite  Eleanor 
and  Clarence  Whitworth  and  that  Miss  Green 
would  take  them  all  to  spend  a  Saturday  half- 
holiday,  or  rather  a  whole  holiday,  at  this 
beautiful  old  palace,  which  was  on  the  river, 
not  very  far  distant  from  Oldham  Manor. 

13 


14      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Several  Saturdays  had  proved  disappoint- 
ingly rainy,  but  to-day  was  all  they  could  wish 
for,  and  after  calling  at  the  vicarage  for  Eleanor 
and  Clarence,  they  went  down  the  little  village 
street  which  led  to  the  river  landing,  where 
there  was  a  sign,  "  Boats  to  let." 

Miss  Green  intended  to  engage  a  waterman 
to  row  them  up  to  the  Court,  as  it  was  a  rather 
long  and  tiresome  pull. 

The  Thames  watermen  are  quite  an  insti- 
tution, and  are  one  of  the  oldest  of  English 
guilds  or  societies.  They  are  banded  together 
for  the  mutual  protection  of  their  business, 
which  is  to  hire  out  boats  —  and  to  row  boats 
and  the  like.  Each  man  wears  a  badge,  and  is 
very  jealous  of  his  rights.  A  new  man  who 
wishes  to  join  their  band  must  go  through  a 
long  apprenticeship  before  he  can  become  what 
is  publicly  known  as  a  cc  Thames  Waterman." 

cc  Good  morning,  John,"  said  Miss  Green, 
to  a  bluff,  good-natured  man  who   lifted  his 


"IN    A    FEW    MINUTES    THEY    HAD    LANDED" 


A  Day  at  Hampton  Court       15 

cap  to  them.  "  Have  you  a  good  boat  for  us  to- 
day ?  we  want  you  to  take  us  up  to  the  Court." 

"  Yes,  indeed,  miss,  one  of  the  best  of  the 
lot."  John  was  their  favourite  waterman,  who 
often  rowed  them  when  the  distances  were  too 
great  for  Miss  Green. 

It  was  a  pretty  row  past  the  green  lawns  of 
handsome  homes,  and  one  or  two  small  river 
villages,  where  the  principal  business  is  the 
letting  of  boats  and  of  fishing-tackle. 

John's  sturdy  strokes  soon  brought  them  in 
sight  of  the  park  belonging  to  Hampton  Court, 
surrounded  by  a  high  wall  past  which  the  river 
winds  for  some  distance.  Soon  they  caught 
sight  of  the  red  brick  towers  of  the  palace 
itself,  and  its  beautiful  gardens,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  they  had  landed  near  one  of  the  small 
excursion  steamers  that  ply  between  London 
and  Hampton  Court,  on  which  so  many  folk 
take  a  charming  day's  excursion  on  the 
Thames. 


1 6      Our  Little   English  Cousin 

There  is  also  a  little  village  at  Hampton 
Court,  as  well  as  the  palace,  but  one  never 
pays  much  attention  to  it,  except  when  one 
begins  to  get  hungry,  for  it  is  mostly  made 
up  of  little  shops,  that  hang  out  signs  on  which 
is  the  one  word,  "  Teas,"  which  means  one  can 
get  there  their  afternoon  tea. 

Our  little  party  made  straight  for  the  big 
iron  gates  which  lead  into  the  entrance  court. 
On  one  side  are  barracks  where  soldiers  live, 
and  before  them  rises  the  red  brick  lodge  or 
gateway  through  which  is  the  main  entrance 
to  the  palace  itself. 

I  fancy  one  often  thinks  of  a  palace  as  a 
great,  tall,  imposing  building  of  many  stories. 
Well,  most  palaces  do  cover  a  great  deal  of 
ground,  but  many  of  the  English  ones  are  not 
so  very  tall.  This  palace  is  only  two  stories 
high,  with  a  sort  of  attic  at  the  top.  Another 
strange  thing  about  these  old-time  palaces  is 
that  most  of  the  rooms   are  very  small    ac- 


A  Day  at  Hampton  Court       17 

cording  to  our  modern  ideas,  except  for  a 
few  long  rooms,  called  galleries. 

"  Let  us  go  through  the  two  courtyards  into 
the  gardens  and  sit  on  a  bench  under  one  of 
those  old  yew-trees,  and  I  will  tell  you  chil- 
dren something  of  the  story  of  the  palace ; 
then  you  will  enjoy  seeing  it  much  more," 
said  Miss  Green,  as  she  led  them  into  the 
lovely  gardens  where  they  could  see  the 
building  to  the  best  advantage.  The  children 
crowded  around  her  as  she  began  : 

"It  was  built  several  hundred  years  ago  by 
the  great  Cardinal  Wolsey  who  was  minister 
or  councillor  to  King  Henry  VIII.  Wolsey 
became  a  powerful  favourite  of  the  king,  who 
loaded  him  with  royal  gifts.  He  became 
wealthy  and  proud,  and  built  for  himself  many 
grand  homes,  until  at  last  he  founded  this 
Hampton  Court,  which  was  to  be  the  most 
splendid  of  them  all.  But  the  cardinal  had 
become  by  this  time  such  a  power  in  the  king- 


1 8      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

dom,  and  was  so  arrogant  and  wealthy  that 
the  king  was  jealous  of  him,  fearing  that  the 
cardinal  would  become  his  rival. 

"  To  counteract  this,  the  cardinal  presented 
his  palace  at  Hampton  Court  to  the  king., 
and  so  it  became  a  royal  palace.  But  this  did 
not  prevent  the  cardinal's  downfall. 

"  Until  a  hundred  or  more  years  ago  this 
palace  was  a  favourite  home  of  the  Royal 
Family,  but  now  it  is  only  a  show-place  for 
holiday-makers. " 

"  I  don't  see  how  the  king  could  have 
treated  the  poor  cardinal  badly  after  he  gave 
him  such  a  beautiful  home,,,  remarked  Edith, 
as  they  entered  the  palace. 

"  Ah,  well !  perhaps  he  deserved  it,"  said 
Miss  Green,  as  they  went  up  the  grand  stair> 
way  and  through  room  after  room  filled  with 
pictures,  and  some  of  the  furniture  of  those 
old  days. 

They  could  see  the  beds  on  which  had  slept 


A  Day  at  Hampton  Court      19 

many  royal  persons.  Around  this  furniture 
were  drawn  ropes  so  no  one  could  touch  it 
or  sit  upon  the  chairs.  The  floors  were  highly 
waxed,  and  in  every  room  was  a  guardian  or 
sort  of  policeman,  who  closely  watched  visitors 
to  see  that  nothing  was  disturbed. 

"  Well,  they  did  have  a  great  number  of 
rooms,"  said  Eleanor,  after  they  had  walked 
through  many  bedchambers,  anterooms,  and 
reception-rooms. 

"Yes,"  answered  Miss  Green,  "they  were 
necessary  not  only  for  the  Royal  Family 
itself,  but  for  the  many  people  who  were 
always  attached  to  the  court. 

"  Here  is  the  *  throne-room/ "  she  con- 
tinued, "  where  the  king  or  queen  sat  in  that 
gilt  chair  which  stands  on  a  dais  or  platform 
raised  several  steps  above  the  floor."  Above 
the  chair  was  a  velvet  canopy  surmounted  by 
a  gilt  crown.  Usually  the  arms  of  England 
(the  "  Lion  and  the  Unicorn  ")  were  embroid- 


20      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

ered  in  gold  and  coloured  silks  on  the  velvet 
background  behind  the  throne.  Here  the 
kings  and  queens  held  their  audiences,  and 
saw  those  who  wished  to  present  some  petition 
or  ask  some  royal  favour. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  old-time 
c  banqueting-halls '  in  our  country,"  said  Miss 
Green,  as  they  came  into  the  great  chamber 
with  a  high  roof  of  great  carved  wood  beams 
and  windows  of  coloured  glass.  Around  the 
walls  were  great  stag  heads,  and  over  the 
entrance  door  was  a  gallery  where  the  musi- 
cians played  while  guests  ate  dinner  at  the 
long  tables.  The  guests  sat  on  wooden 
benches  or  stools,  while  the  persons  of  high 
rank  occupied  chairs  at  a  table  at  the  end  of 
the  hall,  which  was  placed  on  a  raised  platform 
which  separated  them  from  those  of  inferior 
rank. 

"Can't  we  see  the  big  grape-vine  now?" 
said  Edith,  as  they  left  the  palace  itself. 


A  Day  at  Hampton  Court      21 

Miss  Green  led  the  way  through  the  rose- 
garden,  and  past  Queen  Mary's  Bower,  a 
shady  and  favourite  walk  of  one  of  the 
queens,  so  shut  in  by  trees  that  it  looked 
like  a  green  tunnel.  "  There  is  the  vine- 
house,"  exclaimed  Clarence,  as  they  came  to 
a  long,  low,  glass  house  which  covered  the 
huge  vine,  nearly  two  hundred  years  old,  the 
largest  single  vine  in  the  world.  The  trunk 
looked  like  that  of  a  small  tree,  and  its 
branches,  hanging  thick  with  bunches  of 
grapes,  covered  the  glass  roof.  At  various 
times  its  home  had  to  be  added  to,  and  still 
the  vine  has  to  be  constantly  pruned  to  keep 
it  within  bounds. 

"  I  should  like  to  eat  some  of  those  grapes 
when  they  are  ripe,"  said  Eleanor,  looking  up 
at  the  clusters  over  her  head. 

"  You  would  have  to  be  one  of  the  Royal 
Family  to  do  that,"  Miss  Green  smilingly  said. 
<c  They  are  all  kept  for  the  king's  own  use." 


22      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

"  Well,  are  you  young  people  ready  for 
dinner?"  asked  the  governess,  looking  at  her 
watch  as  they  left  the  vine-house.  "  It  is 
nearly  one  o'clock,  so  we  had  better  have  our 
dinner,  and  then  we  can  spend  the  afternoon 
in  the  gardens  and  park." 

"Afterward  we  can  go  through  the  Maze, 
Eleanor,"  cried  Edith,  as,  holding  each  other 
by  the  hand,  the  little  girls  skipped  through 
the  garden  paths. 

"Yes,  but  dinner  first,  by  all  means,"  said 
Clarence,  "  and  let  us  go  to  one  of  the  places 
on  the  river,  please,  Miss  Green,  where  we  can 
watch  the  boats." 

On  the  gallery  of  one  of  the  inns  that  over- 
look the  river  they  found  a  round  table  that 
would  just  accommodate  their  party.  Here 
they  could  enjoy  a  fine  view  of  the  palace 
and  the  river,  and  a  substantial  meal  at  the 
same  time. 

"  Now  for  the  c  Maze/  "  cried  the  young 


A  Day  at   Hampton  Court      23 

people,  when  they  entered  the  gardens  again. 
The  "Maze"  is  an  elaborate  labyrinth,  whose 
pattern  is  laid  out  in  high-clipped  hedges  of 
box-trees.  One  can  lose  themselves  for  some 
time  amid  its  tangle  of  paths  before  it  is  pos- 
sible to  reach  the  centre,  and  come  back  again 
to  the  starting-place. 

"  By  paying  a  penny  I  can  watch  your 
efforts,"  said  Miss  Green,  as  she  paid  her 
penny  to  the  guardian,  and  mounted  a  little 
platform  which  overlooks  the  tangle  of  paths. 
"I  think  I  shall  enjoy  this  more  than  rushing 
around  through  the  hot  sun,"  she  said,  smiling 
down  on  her  charges. 

Finding  the  right  path  through  the  Maze  is 
one  of  the  favourite  amusements  of  the  chil- 
dren when  they  visit  Hampton  Court,  and  our 
three  young  friends  were  soon  rushing  around: 
laughing  in  the  wildest  excitement. 

It  took  nearly  an  hour's  fun  before  they 
were  able  to  reach  the  centre  and  get  out  again, 


24      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Clarence  being  rather  crestfallen  that  the  girls 
had  beaten  him  out. 

"  Oh,  we  are  warm,"  said  Edith,  as  they  ran 
up  to  Miss  Green,  panting  and  fanning  their 
faces  with  their  hats. 

"Indeed  you  are.  Come,  and  we  will  rest 
and  cool  off  in  the  park.  The  chestnut-trees 
look  lovely  with  their  spikes  of  white  flowers." 

Under  the  great  trees,  groups  of  children 
were  playing  about,  or  having  picnic  lunches, 
or  amusing  themselves  with  the  deer,  which 
live  in  the  park,  and  are  so  used  to  visitors 
that  they  are  very  tame,  and  will  even  eat  out 
of  one's  hand. 

"  I  should  like  to  come  here  next  Sun- 
day; it  will  be  c  Chestnut  Sunday/  "  said  Clar- 
ence, as  they  threw  themselves  on  the  soft 
grass. 

"  Oh,"  said  Edith,  "  that  is  always  one  of 
the   first   Sundays  in    May." 

"Yes,"  continued  Clarence,  "the  first  Sun- 


A  Day  at  Hampton  Court      25 

day  after  the  chestnut-trees  come  in  full 
blossom. " 

Thousands  of  people  come  here  from  Lon- 
don and  the  surrounding  country  on  that  day, 
that  they  may  drive  through  this  long  avenue 
that  leads  directly  through  the  park  to  the 
palace  and  admire  the  display  of  blossoms  on 
the  great  trees  that  line  the  avenue  on  both 
sides. 

Clarence  grew  enthusiastic.  "  It's  a  jolly 
sight,  I  can  tell  you,  to  see  vehicles  of  all 
kinds,  from  bicycles  and  coster's  carts  to  big 
four-in-hand  coaches  and  automobiles.  There 
is  such  a  jam  on  the  avenue  that  they  can  only 
creep  along ;  it's  like  a  big  picnic." 

"Is  it  not  nearly  tea-time?  We  are  so 
thirsty,  Miss  Green,"  said  Eleanor,  as  the  sun 
began  to  drop  behind  the  trees.  The  little 
girls  had  amused  themselves  by  making  endless 
daisy  chains,  and  decorating  their  hats  with  the 
"  may  "  as  they  call  the  hawthorn-bloom,  while 


26      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Miss  Green  read  to  them  from  a  story- 
book. 

"  Yes,  we  must  not  be  too  late  in  getting 
home ;  we  will  stop  at  one  of  the  little  tea- 
shops  near  the  boat-landing." 

It  was  a  neat  little  cottage  which  they  se- 
lected, covered  with  vines,  with  a  small  flower- 
garden  in  front.  The  pleasant-faced  hostess 
soon  brought  in  a  big  tea-tray  covered  with  a 
dainty  cloth  on  which  was  a  big  pot  of  tea,  cut 
bread  and  butter,  and  delicious  strawberries, 
such  as  only  grow  in  England.  "  Nearly  as 
big  as  my  fist,"  declared  Clarence,  but  this 
was  perhaps  putting  it  rather  strongly,  though 
each  one  made  a  big  mouthful  as  the  young 
folk  ate  them,  dipping  them  first  into  sugar. 

They  sang  songs  as  they  rowed  home,  and 
the  tunes  were  taken  up  by  other  boats  full 
of  young  people  out  for  the  Saturday  half- 
holiday. 

"  We  have  had  such  a  lovely  time ;  thank 


A  Day  at  Hampton  Court      27 

you  so  much,  Miss   Green,"  said  the  young 
Whitworths  as  they  parted  at  their  gate. 

"  It  has  been  a  nice  day,  and  we  will  have 
some  others,  too,  when  Adelaide  comes,  won't 
we  ?  "  said  Edith. 


CHAPTER  III. 

A    DRIVE    TO    RICHMOND  AND    KEW    GARDENS 

Adelaide  Stamford  was  Ediths  first  cousin 
and  lived  in  London.  She  was  not  as  strong 
as  Edith,  and  during  the  winter  her  mamma  had 
taken  her  to  Brighton,  which  is  the  great 
winter  seaside  resort.  Although  it  is  also  a 
very  fashionable  place,  many  invalids  go  there 
to  enjoy  the  warm  sunshine.  Adelaide  was 
taken  up  and  down  the  fine  promenade  in  a 
bath  chair,  which  is  a  kind  of  big  baby-carriage 
which  a  man  pulls,  or  pushes  along.  She  also 
sat  in  the  glass  "  shelters  "  along  the  sea  front, 
which  keep  oflF  the  wind  nicely,  and  are  like 
small  glass  houses. 

So  Adelaide  had  become  much  stronger,  but 

the  smoky  London  fog  had  again  made   her 

28 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  29 

rather  pale  and  thin,  and  so  she  was  coming  to 
spend  a  few  weeks  with  the  Howards,  to  see 
if  Surrey  air  would  not  be  beneficial. 

She  was  Edith's  favourite  cousin,  and  the 
little  girls  were  nearly  of  the  same  age.  Edith 
looked  forward  to  having  her  share  her  lessons, 
and  planned  many  pleasant  drives  together  in 
their  neighbourhood,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  interesting  in  England. 

"  My  dear,  we  must  not  only  have  roses  in 
our  garden,  we  must  get  some  into  your 
cheeks,"  said  Colonel  Howard,  as  he  lifted 
a  little  pale-faced  girl  with  dark  hair  and  eyes 
out  of  the  dog-cart  which  had  brought  her 
from  the  station. 

"  She  must  stay  out-of-doors  as  much  as 
possible,  and  on  the  river,  and  Edith  will  take 
her  on  some  of  her  favourite  drives,  and  we 
will  soon  have  her  looking  as  plump  as  our 
little  girl,"  said  her  aunt  as  she  kissed  her. 

Mrs.    Howard    then   took   Adelaide   up   to 


30      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Edith's  room,  where  another  bed  had  been  put 
up  for  her. 

"  Kate  will  arrange  your  things  in  their 
proper  places/'  said  Mrs.  Howard,  as  the  neat- 
capped  maid  came  to  take  her  coat  and  hat. 
"  I  must  leave  you  now,  we  are  very  busy. 
Edith  has  probably  told  you  that  the  c  Sunday- 
school  treat '  is  to  be  held  on  our  lawn  this 
afternoon,  so,  when  you  have  rested,  come 
into  the  garden  and  help  us  amuse  the  little 
ones." 

"  A  treat "  in  other  words  is  a  picnic,  and 
often  only  an  afternoon  picnic,  as  in  this  case. 
The  children  of  the  neighbourhood  had  early 
gathered  in  the  churchyard,  and  were  mar- 
shalled by  the  vicar  and  their  teachers  into  a 
procession. 

Marching  two  by  two,  they  came  down  the 
street,  and  through  the  big  gates  of  the  manor, 
where  they  quickly  spread  themselves  in  merry 
groups  over  the  lawns.     Soon  everybody  was 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  31 

in  full  swing  for  a  good  time ;  games  were 
started,  and  Clarence  with  some  of  the  older 
boys  put  up  a  cricket-pitch  in  one  corner  of 
the  grounds.  The  croquet  lawn  was  also  well 
patronized. 

Colonel  Howard  had  generously  arranged 
for  a  small  steam-launch  to  take  the  children 
for  short  trips  up  the  river  and  back  again ; 
this  was  perhaps  more  popular  than  anything 
else. 

Meanwhile  Mrs.  Howard  and  Mrs.  Whit- 
worth  superintended  the  setting  of  the  tables 
on  the  grass  under  gay  red  and  white  awnings. 

The  summons  to  tea  was  welcome,  and  the 
children  joyfully  gathered  around  the  well- 
filled  tables.  There  were  huge  plates  of  sand- 
wiches, cakes,  buns,  jam,  and  big  strawberries. 
All  the  good  things  melted  away  so  quickly 
that  it  kept  the  older  folks  running  to  bring 
more,  while  nobody  stopped  to  count  the  cups 
of  tea  that  each  one  stowed  away. 


32      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

There  was  a  little  lull  after  this,  while  they 
listened  to  a  band  of  music  placed  under  the 
trees. 

Adelaide  greatly  enjoyed  it;  it  was  more  of 
a  novelty  to  her  than  her  cousin,  and  she  was 
much  interested  in  helping  feed  the  swans,  who 
had  evidently  got  wind  of  the  entertainment 
and  knew  that  their  chances  for  food  were  good. 
A  number  of  these  graceful  birds  had  gathered 
along  the  river  bank,  and  the  children  were 
stuffing  them  with  pieces  of  buns.  There  was 
one  greedy  old  swan  that  amused  them  very 
much  ;  he  was  always  trying  to  peck  the  more 
timid  ones  away  and  gobble  up  everything 
himself,  just  like  some  greedy  children  we  all 
have  seen. 

The  twilight  was  closing  in  when  the  last 
band  of  young  people  left,  singing  songs,  and 
waving  their  hats  and  handkerchiefs  ;  all  of 
them  very  grateful  for  the  happy  time  they 
had  enjoyed  so  much. 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  33 

"  Miss  Green  says  if  we  are  very  good  she 
will  take  us  for  a  drive  in  the  governess-cart 
to  Richmond  and  Kew  Gardens  this  after- 
noon," Edith  confidentially  whispered  to 
Adelaide,  as  they  went  up  to  the  schoolroom 
the  next  day.  Lessons  were  learned  as  by 
magic  that  morning,  and  Tony  and  the  cart 
were  at  the  door  early  in  the  afternoon. 

Tony  was  one  of  the  dearest  of  ponies,  and 
was  almost  as  much  of  a  playmate  with  the 
children  as  Towser. 

"  Look  at  Tony  as  we  get  in,  Adelaide ;  he 
has  the  funniest  little  way  of  looking  around 
at  you."  Sure  enough,  Tony  was  peering 
around  at  them  as  much  as  to  say,  "  I'm 
watching  you ;  aren't  you  almost  ready  to 
start?" 

They  halted  a  moment  at  the  vicarage  to 
arrange  that  Eleanor  and  Clarence  should 
meet  them  at  the  bird-pond  in  Kew  Gardens. 
Soon  they  were  driving  through  the  beautiful 


34      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Richmond  Park.  Miss  Green  pointed  out 
White  Lodge,  one  of  the  many  royal  resi- 
dences ;  a  rather  small,  plain,  white  house  in 
the  centre  of  the  park.  "  It  was  here,"  she 
continued,  "  that  young  Prince  Edward,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  will 
some  day  be  King  of  England,  was  born. 
His  birthday  was  celebrated  by  a  great  dinner 
which  was  given  by  the  late  Queen  Victoria  to 
all  the  children  of  Richmond.  Tables  were 
set  under  the  trees  in  the  old  park,  at  which 
hundreds  of  children  feasted,  and  speeches 
were  made  in  honour  of  the  young  prince. 
Afterward  each  child  was  given  a  mug,  on 
which  was  a  picture  of  the  queen  and  the 
date,  which  they  could  always  keep  as  a 
souvenir,  or  remembrance,  of  the  day." 

"  Oh,  yes,  Miss  Green,"  said  Edith,  <€  you 
remember  that  Betty's  little  sister  has  one  of 
the  mugs,  and  Betty  once  showed  it  to  me." 

"  Look  at  the  deer,  Adelaide,"  said  Edith, 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  35 

as  she  caught  her  cousin  by  the  hand.  "  See, 
they  want  to  cross  the  road,  and  are  waiting 
for  us  to  go  past."  Sure  enough,  there  stood, 
watching  the  cart,  a  great  herd  of  these  grace- 
ful creatures,  very  erect,  with  their  dainty  heads 
crowned  with  big,  branching  horns.  They 
were  evidently  undecided  whether  or  not  they 
had  time  enough  to  cross  the  road  before  the 
cart  would  reach  them  ;  then  one  made  up  his 
mind  and  darted  across,  another  followed,  and 
then  the  entire  herd  swept  swiftly  by,  then 
turned  again  to  look  at  the  cart,  as  much  as 
to  say,  "  Well,  we  did  it." 

"  Here  is  the  famous  view  from  Richmond 
Hill,  known  all  over  the  world,"  said  Miss 
Green,  as  she  pulled  up  Tony  for  a  few  min- 
utes, that  the  girls  might  admire  the  winding 
River  Thames,  far  below  them,  lying  like 
a  silver  ribbon  between  green  meadows  and 
wooded  hills.  "  Authors  and  artists  alike 
have  helped  to  make    this   view   celebrated/ 


36      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

said  Miss  Green,  cc  and  that  big  building  on 
the  left  is  the  famous  c  Star  and  Garter '  hotel. 
It  used  to  be  the  fashion  to  drive  down  from 
London  and  lunch  on  its  terrace.,  from  which 
one  gets  a  most  beautiful  view  down  the 
Thames  valley." 

Edith  was  trying  to  point  out  to  Adelaide 
the  tower  of  Windsor  Castle,  where  the  king 
and  the  Royal  Family  live  when  they  are  not 
in  London.  cc  We  will  go  over  there  some 
day  while  you  are  with  us,  Adelaide." 

"  Miss  Green,"  continued  Edith,  as  the 
pony  trotted  down  the  long,  narrow  street 
into  the  town,  "  won't  you  please  stop  at  the 
c  Maid  of  Honor '  shop,  so  we  can  buy  some 
cakes? " 

cc  I  can  never  get  Edith  past  this  place," 
laughed  Miss  Green,  as  she  pulled  up  in  front 
of  an  old-fashioned  shop,  painted  green,  with 
a  big  sign  over  the  front:  "The  Original 
Maid  of  Honor  Shop." 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  37 

While  the  little  girls  make  their  purchases 
you  might  like  to  hear  the  story  of  these 
famous    cakes. 

It  is  said  they  were  first  made  for  King 
Henry  VIII.,  by  one  of  the  Maids  of  Honor 
at  his  court,  and  this  is  why  they  are  called 
"  Maid  of  Honor  "  cakes.  A  Maid  of  Honor 
is  not  really  a  maid  or  a  servant,  but  a  lady 
who  attends  upon  the  queen  —  a  companion. 

Well,  the  king  thought  the  cakes  tasted  so 
good  that  many  more  were  made  for  him,  and 
the  recipe  was  kept  safely  guarded  in  a  fine 
chest  with  a  gold  lock  and  key ;  but  somehow 
it  became  known,  and  was  handed  down  until 
it  became  the  property  of  the  present  owner 
of  the  shop,  who  claims  that  his  cakes  are 
still  made  by  the  same  recipe  as  those  eaten 
by  King  Henry  hundreds  of  years  ago. 

By  this  time  the  little  girls  were  driving 
past  the  "Green."  Every  town  and  village  in 
England  has  an  open  grass  plot  which  is  either 


38      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

called  the  "  Green  "  or  the  "  Common/'  which 
means  that  it  is  common  property,  and  it  is 
here  that  the  young  people  play  games. 

"  There  is  all  that  is  left  of  Richmond 
Palace,"  said  Miss  Green,  pointing  to  an 
ancient  gateway  with  a  part  of  a  dwelling 
attached.  "  Once  it  was  a  favourite  residence 
of  the  great  Queen  Elizabeth. 

"  Many  great  men  lived  during  the  reign  of 
c  Good  Queen  Bess/  as  she  was  called,  but 
you  must  not  forget  the  greatest  of  them  all 
—  Shakespeare." 

"  Oh,  yes/'  said  Edith,  "  papa  and  mamma 
are  going  this  summer  to  visit  the  village  where 
he  lived,  and  they  have  promised  to  take  me. 
What  is  the  name  of  the  place,  Miss  Green  ?  I 
have  forgotten  it." 

"  Stratford-on-Avon,  and  you  must  never 
forget  the  name  of  the  town  where  lived  the 
greatest  English  poet,  my  dear,"  replied  Miss 
Green. 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  39 

"  Did  not  a  great  many  kings  and  queens 
live  in  Richmond,  besides  Queen  Elizabeth  ?" 
asked  Adelaide. 

"  Yes,  it  was  a  favourite  home  of  royalty, 
and  that  is  why  it  was  called  (  Royal  Richmond/ 
and  the  town  has  always  been  proud  of  the 
numbers  of  great  people  who  have  lived  here, 
poets  and  writers  and  painters  as  well  as  kings 
and  queens. 

"  I  will  have  the  cart  put  up  at  one  of  the 
little  inns  near  the  big  gates,"  said  Miss  Green, 
as  they  drove  up  to  the  entrance  to  Kew 
Gardens. 

Soon  our  party  were  strolling  over  the  soft 
grass  and  among  the  lovely  flower-beds,  for 
here  people  can  walk  and  play  over  the  grass  as 
they  like,  for  there  are  no  horrid  "  Keep 
off  the  Grass  "  signs. 

If  you  want  to  know  what  any  plant  or  tree 
in  the  whole  world  looks  like,  you  have  only 
to  come  here  and  you  will  find  a  specimen  of 


40      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

it,  either  growing  out  in  the  open,  or  in  the 
museum,  which  makes  these  gardens  of  great 
value.  They  were  begun  first  by  a  certain 
King  George,  whose  palace  is  still  standing 
in  one  corner  of  the  gardens,  and  who  after- 
ward made  it  a  present  to  the  nation. 

Our  party  made  straight  for  the  pond  where 
they  were  to  meet  their  little  friends. 

"  There  they  are  now/'  cried  Edith,  cc  and 
Clarence  is  feeding  that  funny  old  bird  that 
follows  everybody  around." 

"  I  have  given  this  old  fellow  two  buns 
already,  and  he  is  still  begging  for  more,"  said 
Clarence,  as  the  two  little  girls  ran  up. 

It  is  a  great  treat  for  the  children  to  watch 
the  queer  water-birds  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  whose  homes  are  in  and  around  this 
pond. 

On  Saturday  afternoons  especially,  numbers 
of  young  people  of  all  ages  gather  there  at  the 
hour  when  the  birds  are  fed.     The  birds  are 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  41 

petted  and  fed  so  much  that  they  are  very 
tame,  and  the  gray  gull  that  Clarence  was 
talking  about,  follows  every  one  about  begging 
like  a  kitten  or  a  dog.  There  are  ducks  of  all 
kinds,  and  all  colours,  that  scoot  over  the 
water,  swallowing  the  unwary  flies  and  water- 
bugs  who  stray  in  their  path,  and  dive  for  the 
bits  of  cake  and  bread  which  are  thrown  to 
them  by  the  children.  There  are  beautiful 
red  flamingos,  and  storks  that  stand  on  one 
leg  with  their  heads  under  one  wing,  and  all 
kinds  of  queer  birds  with  long,  stick-like  legs. 
But  the  funniest  of  all  are  the  big  white 
pelicans. 

"  Do  look  at  them,"  cried  Adelaide,  "  they 
know  their  dinner  is  coming."  The  five 
pelicans  had  been  huddled  up  in  a  bunch  in 
one  corner,  with  their  eyes  tight  shut,  one 
might  think  fast  asleep.  Just  then  the  keeper 
came  down  to  the  water's  edge  with  a  big  basket 
of  fish.     Such  a  flapping  of  wings  !      The  pel- 


42      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

icans  were  instantly  wide-awake,  and,  rushing 
forward,  crowded  about  the  keeper,  opening 
their  enormously  long  beaks,  to  which  is 
attached  a  kind  of  natural  sack  or  bag  which 
they  use  for  holding  their  food  until  they  can 
better  masticate  it. 

As  each  one's  share  of  the  fish  was  tossed 
into  its  big  mouth,  it  disappeared  like  light- 
ning. Meanwhile,  all  the  other  birds,  big  and 
little,  had  rushed  up  demanding  their  share. 
Such  "  quacks  "  and  "gowks  "  and  "  squeaks  "  ! 
You  never  heard  such  a  funny  lot  of  voices. 
The  greedy  old  gull  hopped  right  under  the 
keeper's  feet,  until  he  got  the  biggest  fish  of 
all,  and  dragged  it  off  into  a  corner  all  by 
himself. 

Our  young  people  watched  the  birds  for 
some  time,  then  went  through  some  of  the  big 
greenhouses  full  of  palms,  and  all  sorts  of 
tropical  plants,  and  finally  drove  back  home 
through  the  quaint  little  village  of  Kew. 


A  Drive  to  Richmond  43 

"In  this  churchyard  is  buried  one  of  our 
most  famous  painters,"  said  Miss  Green,  as 
they  passed  the  quaint  church  which  stands  on 
one  side  of  the  Kew  Green,  —  "  Gainsborough, 
who  was  especially  fond  of  painting  portraits 
of  beautiful  women.  But  we  must  not  stop 
longer,  as  it  is  growing  late,"  she  continued, 
so  touching  up  Tony,  they  went  along  all  in 
high  spirits,  though  Adelaide  confessed  she 
did  feel  a  bit  tired,  and  both  the  little  girls 
were  quite  ready  for  their  tea  when  they 
reached  the  manor. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

WITH    TOM    AT    WINDSOR    CASTLE    AND    ETON 

"  When  do  we  start,  papa,  and  which  way 
are  we  to  go,  and  are  we  to  see  Tom  first, 
or  the  castle  ? "  asked  Edith,  all  in  one 
breath,  as  soon  as  she  had  kissed  her  mamma 
and  papa  good  morning  in  the  breakfast-room. 

"  Oh,  you  little  fidget ! "  said  Colonel 
Howard,  good-naturedly,  "  sit  down  and  eat 
your  breakfast  and  we  will  try  and  answer 
one  question  at  a  time.  Now,  which  would 
you  rather  see  first,  Tom  or  the  castle  ?  " 

"  Tom,  of  course,"  cried  Edith,  without 
hesitation,  for  she  and  her  brother  were  great 
chums,  though  she  was  only  a  little  girl,  while 
in  her  eyes,  as  well  as  in  his  own,  Master 
Tom  was  quite  a  man. 

44 


At  Windsor  Castle  and  Eton    45 

"  Well,  then,  Tom  first,  and  we  will  take 
him  to  the  castle  with  us.  Though  he  has 
been  there  before,  he  will  enjoy  the  day  with  us. 

"  We  will  drive  along  the  river  road,  for 
that  is  the  prettiest  way,  though  the  longest, 
and  we  will  start  as  soon  as  mamma  is  ready. 
Now,  miss,  all  of  your  questions  are  satis- 
factorily answered,  and  it  only  remains  for 
you  children  not  to  keep  us  waiting." 

There  was  no  danger  of  that.  The  young 
people  were  in  the  carriage  before  Colonel  and 
Mrs.  Howard  came  down-stairs,  and  soon 
they  were  bowling  along  the  shady  road,  the 
hawthorn  hedges  on  either  side  perfuming 
the  air  with  their  white  blossoms. 

They  passed  through  several  quaint  little 
riverside  villages  with  queer  little  inns,  where 
those  who  want  to  fish  or  boat  on  the  river 
go  for  a  lunch  or  tea,  which  they  can  enjoy  on 
a  gallery,  or  in  a  garden  overlooking  the  water. 

"  There's    Windsor    Castle,"    cried    Edith. 


46      Our  Little   English  Cousin 

"  I  knew  it  from  the  pictures ;  it  is  a  real 
story-book  castle."  And,  sure  enough,  high 
up  over  the  trees  rose  the  great  gray  towers 
and  walls  at  whose  very  base  flowed  the 
Thames. 

"  There  is  one  of  the  most  historic  spots 
on  our  river,"  said  Colonel  Howard,  pointing 
to  a  small  island  covered  with  trees.  "  It 
does  not  look  very  important,  but  tradition 
says  a  great  event  took  place  there.  Way 
back  in  the  early  history  of  our  country  the 
kings  had  such  absolute  power  that  they  could 
do  almost  anything  they  liked,  and  if  they 
were  not  good  men  this  led  them  to  oppress 
their  subjects  and  take  away  their  liberties. 
So  the  great  barons  of  the  country  forced 
King  John  to  give  them  their  c  Charter/  on 
this  little  island,  called  Runnymede.  All  this 
is  difficult  for  you  little  girls  to  understand, 
but  some  day  you  will  read  more  about  it 
in  your  history." 


At  Windsor  Castle  and  Eton   47 

"  You  can  see,  Edith,  over  those  meadows 
yonder,  where  Tom  lives.  That  is  Eton,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  prettiest  views  of  the  college,,, 
said  Mrs.  Howard. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  were  among  the  old 
buildings  of  the  most  famous  of  boys*  schools, 
and  found  Tom  ready  for  them,  full  of  en- 
thusiasm at  the  prospect  of  a  day  off  in  com- 
pany with  his  family. 

The  Howard  family  was  a  very  devoted  one, 
and  no  wonder  they  were  proud  of  Tom.  He 
was  a  fine,  healthy,  rosy-cheeked  boy  with 
frank,  blue  eyes  and  short-clipped  brown  hair. 
He  had  on  a  suit  like  that  worn  by  all  the 
Eton  boys,  which  has  now  become  the  proper 
dress  for  English  boys  of  certain  ages,  espe- 
cially schoolboys.  It  consists  of  long  gray 
trousers  and  a  short  black  jacket,  coming  just 
to  the  waist,  known  as  the  Ci  Eton  jacket "  ; 
over  this  is  a  broad  white  collar,  and  they 
wear  with  this  costume   a  high  silk   hat,  just 


48      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

like  the  one  your  papa  wears,  except  of  course 
it  is  smaller. 

"  I  wrote  to  you  that  I  was  in  the  c  eights ' 
that  is  to  row  at  Henley,  papa;  well,  we  are 
working  hard  to  beat  them.  By  Jove !  we 
have  got  a  strict  coach  ;  he  is  keeping  the 
fellows  up  to  the  mark,"  and  Tom  talked  on 
with  enthusiasm  about  the  boat-races  at  Hen- 
ley-on-Thames, at  which  their  crew  of  eight 
was  to  compete  for  one  of  the  prizes  known 
as  "  The  Ladies'  Plate." 

As  he  talked,  he  led  them  through  the 
colleges  and  into  the  chapel,  pointing  out 
everything  to  the  little  girls  with  a  lofty  air 
of  proprietorship  which  greatly  impressed 
them  with  his  importance,  and  when  he 
showed  them  the  cc  playing  fields "  where 
cricket  was  going  on,  and  spoke  in  an  off- 
hand manner  of  "  our  men,"  the  little  girls 
looked  at  him  with  great  awe  and  admiration. 

It  was  all  new  to  Edith   and  Adelaide,  so 


At  Windsor  Castle  and  Eton   49 

Tom  took  them  through  some  of  the  old 
class-rooms,  where  many  celebrated  men  had 
learned  their  lessons.  The  rough,  wooden 
benches  and  desks  had  been  hacked  and  cut  up 
by  the  knives  of  schoolboys  for  many  hundred 
years.  It  used  to  be  the  fashion  for  the  boys 
to  cut  their  names  somewhere  on  the  oak- 
panelled  walls  of  their  schoolrooms,  and  many 
names  that  have  since  become  famous  can  be 
seen  there  to-day.  The  boys  liked  to  do  it  all 
the  more,  because  it  was  forbidden,  but  gradu- 
ally it  became  the  custom,  and  the  proper  thing 
to  do. 

After  Tom  had  duly  impressed  the  glories 
of  his  school  upon  his  sister  and  cousin,  the 
whole  party  set  out  for  Windsor  Castle,  just 
across  the  river  from  Eton. 

In  a  few  minutes  they  were  climbing  the 
hill  on  which  the  castle  stands,  and  the  car- 
riage stopped  at  the  big  entrance  gate,  on  either 
side  of  which  stands  a  sentry  in  a  bright  red 


50      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

coat  and  a  great  bearskin  helmet  on  his 
head. 

"  Now,  my  dears,  you  are  really  inside  the 
king's  home,',  said  Colonel  Howard,  as  with 
some  other  visitors  they  followed  the  guide 
through  the  handsome  rooms,  with  their  ele- 
gant furniture  and  valuable  pictures.  From 
the  windows  was  a  fine  view  extending  many 
miles  over  the  great  park  which  surrounds  the 
castle. 

"  On  certain  days  of  the  week,"  said  Colonel 
Howard,  "a  band  plays  on  the  terrace  below, 
and  then  the  grounds  and  terrace  are  free  to 
all  who  wish  to  come,  while  the  Royal  Family 
often    sit   at   these   windows    and    enjoy    the 

musk." 

They  also  visited  the  beautiful  chapel,  where 
the  king  and  his  family  attend  service  when 
they  are  at  the  castle. 

Soon  our  party  came  to  meet  the  carriage 
again  outside  the  great  gateway.    "Drive  to  the 


WINDSOR    CASTLE 


At  Windsor  Castle  and  Eton   51 

*  White  Swan/  John/'  said  Colonel  Howard, 
"we  are  going  to  lunch  there." 

"That's  good/'  said  Tom.  "  It's  a  jolly  nice 
place  ;  they  will  give  us  a  good  dinner.  Look, 
papa/'  he  continued,  excitedly,  "  there  is 
Prince  Eddie  and  his  brother  in  that  carriage 
coming  toward  us.  I  knew  they  were  staying 
at  c  Frogmore  House.' " 

The  two  boy  princes,  manly-looking  young 
boys,  dressed  in  sailor  suits,  were  chattering 
gaily  with  their  tutor,  who  accompanied  them, 
and  smilingly  returned  the  bows  of  Colonel 
Howard's  party  as  they  passed. 

They  are  the  two  oldest  sons  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales ;  they  are  fine-looking  little  fellows, 
and  enjoy  nothing  better  than  their  home  life 
in  the  country,  cycling  around  Windsor  Park, 
or  fishing  and  boating  on  the  river. 

Our  little  party  enjoyed  a  bountiful  dinner 
in  the  cool  dining-room  of  the  "  White  Swan 
Inn,"  with  its  dark,  oak-panelled   walls,  and 


52      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

big  sideboard,  set  out  with  fine  old  silver 
and  china. 

The  solemn,  smooth-faced  old  waiter  deftly 
served  them.  First  they  had  a  delicious  fried 
sole,  and  then  the  dish  without  which  no 
English  person  thinks  dinner  is  complete, — 
a  big  joint  of  good  English  roast  beef,  which 
as  a  matter  of  fact  mostly  comes  from  Scot- 
land. 

With  the  roast  beef  there  are  potatoes  and 
vegetables.  Afterward  there  was  a  pudding, 
for  a  real  English  dinner  must  always  finish 
with  pudding.  Then  follows  cheese,  which  is 
eaten  with  salad,  the  salad  being  usually  let- 
tuce and  eaten  only  with  salt.  Sometimes  they 
have  coffee  after  dinner,  but  the  English  are 
not  great  coffee  drinkers.  You  must  have 
found  out  by  this  time  that  they  are  much 
more  fond  of  tea. 

"  Let's  go  for  a  row  on  the  river,"  was  the 
first  suggestion  after  they   had  left   the   table 


At  Windsor  Castle  and  Eton    53 

and  were  seated  in  the  garden  of  the  inn,  from 
Tom,  who  was  eager  to  show  his  skill  in 
handling  the  oars. 

"  I  am  sure  your  mother  and  I  prefer  to 
rest  awhile ;  we  are  not  so  keen  for  exertion 
just  after  dinner,"  said  Colonel  Howard,  "  but 
you  can  take  the  two  girls,  only  don't  go  too 
far,  for  we  have  a  long  ride  before  us." 

So  the  young  people  enjoyed  a  half-hour's 
row ;  then  Tom  was  driven  back  to  his  school, 
all  promising  to  meet  again  at  Henley. 

It  was  the  cool  of  the  evening  when  John 
drove  through  the  manor  gates,  and  needless 
to  say  our  two  little  girls  slept  that  night  like 
tops.  Somehow  this  toy  has  the  reputation  of 
being  a  very  sound  sleeper.  Can  somebody 
explain  why  ? 


CHAPTER  V. 

LONDON HYDE    PARK   AND    WESTMINSTER 

ABBEY 

Adelaide's  visit  to  Oldham  Manor  was  at 
an  end,  and  Edith  was  to  return  with  her  to 
spend  a  week  in  London.  You  can  imagine 
how  excited  she  was  at  the  thought  of  all  she 
would  see  in  the  great  city. 

Adelaide  was  so  much  improved  by  her  stay 
in  the  country  that  she  seemed  quite  another 
little  girl  who  waved  good-bye  to  her  good  uncle 
and  aunt  as  the  train  pulled  out  of  the  little 
railway  station.  Miss  Green  was  to  see  them 
safely  to  the  end  of  their  journey  and  return 
again  the  same  day. 

"  Does  not  London  look  smoky  and  dark  ?  " 

54 


London  55 

exclaimed  Edith,  as  their  cab  took  them  swiftly 
through  the  crowded  streets. 

"  And  this,  too,  is  a  very  fair  day  for  Lon- 
don," said  Miss  Green,  "  but  here  we  are  in 
Langham  Gardens,"  as  the  cab  turned  into  a 
square  with  a  small  park,  or  garden,  in  the  centre, 
around  which  were  substantial  houses.  Much 
of  London  is  built  around  such  little  squares. 
Soon  the  cab  stopped  before  a  comfortable  brick 
house  of  four  stories  with  white  stone  trimmings. 

In  front  of  each  window  was  what  is  called 
a  window-garden,  an  ornamental  box  full  of 
bright  flowering  plants.  All  the  better  class 
London  dwellings  have  these  window-gardens, 
which  do  so  much  toward  brightening  up  the 
gloomy  rows  of  houses.  The  front  door  was 
a  rich  green  in  colour  and  in  the  centre  was  a 
big  brass  knocker.  A  few  hard  raps  brought 
the  maid,  and  Adelaide  was  soon  in  her  mother's 
arms,  who  was  greatly  pleased  at  seeing  her 
looking  so  well. 


56      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

"  Take  Edith  to  your  room,  my  dear,"  said 
Mrs.  Stamford,  "  and  do  not  be  long,  for  lunch 
will  soon  be  ready." 

Adelaide's  room  was  a  very  nice  one,  but 
one  could  not  see  the  flowers  and  river  from  its 
windows,  as  from  Edith's  in  Surrey.  They 
looked  over  endless  roof-tops  and  smoking 
chimneys.  Opening  out  of  it  was  a  sort  of 
play-room  and  schoolroom  combined.  Here 
Adelaide  had  her  lessons  with  her  teacher,  who 
came  every  day  for  that  purpose. 

"  Oh,  Fluff,  lazy  fellow,  there  you  are," 
cried  Adelaide,  as  a  beautiful  white  Persian  cat 
slowly  uncurled  himself  from  the  depths  of  an 
armchair  and  came  toward  them  with  great 
deliberation,  like  the  aristocratic  pussy  that  he 
was.  He  knew  his  own  value,  and  had  evi- 
dently made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  not 
show  his  little  mistress  how  delighted  he  was 
to  get  her  back  again,  for  fear  of  compromising 
his  dignity. 


London  57 

"  Is  not  he  a  beauty,  Edith  ?  "  said  Adelaide, 
stroking  his  long,  silky,  white  fur.  Fluff,  hav- 
ing at  last  given  in,  mounted  to  her  shoulder, 
and  settled  there  with  a  soft  murmur  of  purrs. 

"  He  comes  of  a  fine  family,  I  can  tell  you, 
and  at  the  last  Royal  Cat  Show,  at  the  Crystal 
Palace,  he  took  a  gold  medal ;  there  it  is  hang- 
ing up  in  the  cabinet.  There  is  no  use  trying 
to  keep  it  tied  on  Fluff,  he  only  tries  to  lick  it 
off  all  the  time ;  besides,  it  would  spoil  his 
beautiful  ruff." 

The  two  little  girls  had  lunch  with  Mrs. 
Stamford,  for  Adelaide  had  all  her  meals  in  the 
big  dining-room,  except  tea,  which  she  had  with 
her  teacher,  Miss  Winton,  in  the  schoolroom. 

Mrs.  Stamford  was  a  widow  and  Adelaide 
her  only  child,  so  she  and  her  mother  were 
much  together  and  were  real  companions  to 
each  other. 

"  How  would  you  and  Edith  like  to  go 
with  me  to  Hyde  Park  this  afternoon  ?  "  asked 


58      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Mrs.  Stamford.  "  The  king  is  to  open  the 
new  Royal  Hospital,  and  as  the  procession 
passes  through  the  park  you  will  be  able  to  see 
it  well." 

"  How  splendid !  We  will  really  see  the 
king  and  queen,  aunty  ?  Do  let's  go,"  and 
Edith  jumped  up  and  down  in  her  chair  with 
excitement. 

"  Be  ready,  then,  so  that  we  can  leave  directly 
after  lunch,  for  he  is  to  pass  Albert  Gate  at 
three  o'clock,  and  we  must  be  early  to  get 
a  place." 

The  park  looked  gayer  than  usual  this  after- 
noon, with  plenty  of  well-dressed  people  in 
fine  carriages  drawn  by  well-groomed  horses 
and  driven  by  pompous  coachmen ;  some  of 
the  handsomest  carriages  had  coachmen  and 
footmen  in  bright-coloured  liveries  and  pow- 
dered wigs.  A  carriage  like  this  you  may  be 
sure  held  some  grand  person.  All  along  the 
edge  of  the  drives  were  rows  of  chairs ;  toward 


London  59 

these  Mrs.  Stamford  made  her  way  and  selected 
three  in  the  front  row. 

Presently  one  of  the  men  who  have  the 
seats  in  charge  came  up,  and  Mrs.  Stamford 
paid  him  a  penny  for  the  use  of  each  seat. 

The  crowd  grew  more  dense  and  the  big 
policemen  were  now  keeping  the  driveway 
clear. 

Edith  had  noticed  in  the  two  chairs  next  to 
her  a  little  girl,  apparently  but  little  older  than 
herself,  and  a  boy  evidently  younger.  They 
had  been  talking  eagerly  together,  and  Edith 
could  tell  that  everything  was  new  and  strange 
to  them. 

Presently  the  little  girl,  who  had  been  glanc- 
ing at  Edith,  leaned  over  and  said,  eagerly : 
"  They  will  soon  be  here,  won't  they  ?  I  so 
much  want  to  see  a  real  live  king  and  queen. 
You  know  we  don't  have  kings  and  queens  in 
our  country.  We  are  Americans.  My  mamma's 
name  is  Mrs.  White  and  I  am  Carrie  White 


60      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

and  Henry  is  my  youngest  brother.  I  have 
two  brothers  at  home  in  New  York  older 
than  myself,  and  we  are  staying  at  the  Hotel 
Cecil.,, 

The  little  girl  poured  out  her  information 
rapidly,  before  Edith  had  time  to  say  a  word. 

"  We  have  a  c  President '  in  our  country  ;  he 
drives  around  in  processions,  too,  but  he  does 
not  wear  a  crown  like  your  king,"  chimed  in 
the  little  boy.  "  I  wish  he  was  going  to  have 
it  on  to-day,  but  I  suppose  he  only  puts  it  on 
for  grand  occasions." 

"  Yes,"  said  Adelaide,  joining  in  the  conver- 
sation, "  he  wears  it  when  he  goes  to  open  Parlia- 
ment. I  saw  that  procession  once.  It  was  a 
fine  sight,  better  than  this  will  be,  because  he 
and  the  queen  rode  in  the  great  gilded  coach 
that  cost  ever  so  much  money.  They  both 
had  on  their  crowns  and  rich  red  robes  trimmed 
with  ermine,  and  they  smiled  and  bowed  as 
they  drove  along.     The  coach  was  drawn  by 


London  61 

eight  beautiful  cream-coloured  horses  with 
harness  of  red  and  gold,  and  each  horse  was 
led  by  a  groom  dressed  in  a  red  uniform  with 
a  powdered  wig  and  black  velvet  cap.  Behind 
were  two  footmen,  also  in  red  and  gold,  and 
on  either  side  of  the  carriage  walked  the 
c  Beefeaters/  as  the  Yeomen  of  the  Guard 
are  called." 

"  Oh,  those  are  the  men  who  take  care  of 
the  Crown  Jewels  in  the  Tower  of  London. 
We  saw  them,"  broke  in  the  little  boy. 

"  Yes,"  hurriedly  went  on  Adelaide,  "  and 
before  the  coach  rode  a  detachment  of  the 
Royal  Horse  Guards.  Oh,  they  are  splendid  ! 
And  behind  rode  some  more  Horse  Guards ; 
then  followed  lots  of  carriages." 

Mrs.  Stamford  had  been  listening  to  the 
children  with  some  amusement. 

"  Are  you  alone,  my  dears  ? "  she  finally 
asked  the  little  American  girl. 

"  Oh,  yes,  Henry  and  I  came  all  by  ourselves 


62      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

from  the  hotel.  Poor  mamma  had  such  a  bad 
headache  she  could  not  come,  but  she  did  not 
want  us  to  be  disappointed,  so  she  got  the 
hotel  porter  to  put  us  on  the  right  'bus,  and  he 
told  the  conductor  where  to  let  us  off,  and  all 
we  have  got  to  do  when  we  want  to  go  back 
is  to  ask  the  big  policeman  at  the  gate  to  put 
us  on  the  same  'bus  again." 

"  Oh,"  gasped  Edith  in  amazement,  "aren't 
you  afraid  ? " 

She  could  not  imagine  Adelaide  and  herself 
crossing  several  miles  of  the  busiest  part  of 
London  without  Mrs.  Stamford,  the  governess, 
or  a  maid  accompanying  them. 

"  Why,  no,  of  course  not,"  laughed  Henry. 
"  It  is  rather  hard  to  find  the  right  'bus,  because 
they  have  got  so  many  names  all  over  them, 
but  a  policeman  will  always  set  you  right ;  they 
are  right  good  fellows,  your  policemen ;  they 
take  a  lot  of  trouble  for  one." 

"  Here  they  come,"  some  one  called  out,  as 


London  63 

cheering  was  heard,  and  the  children  jumped 
up  on  their  chairs. 

First  came  a  number  of  mounted  policemen, 
and  then  many  carriages  containing  great 
people,  and  members  of  the  Royal  Family. 
Then  the  Royal  Horse  Guards,  the  finest 
regiment  of  soldiers  in  the  kingdom,  whose 
duty  is  always  to  escort  the  king.  They  did 
make  a  fine  showing  in  their  white  trousers 
and  red  coats,  their  glittering  breastplates  and 
helmets,  swords  clanking  by  their  sides,  and 
sitting  so  straight  on  their  black  horses. 

"  They  are  fine,"  said  Henry.  "  I  wish 
Billy  could  see  them." 

"  Hush,  here  is  the  king,"  said  Adelaide. 

An  open  carriage  passed  swiftly.  On  the 
high  box  sat  the  coachman  and  footman  in  the 
royal  liveries  of  a  bright  red,  powdered  wigs  on 
their  heads,  and  on  the  lapel  of  the  coachman's 
coat  was  a  huge  rosette.  At  the  back  of  the  car- 
riage stood  two  footmen,  also  in  the  red  liverv. 


64      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

King  Edward  VII.  was  dressed  in  a  field- 
marshal's  uniform,  and  kept  his  hand  in 
salute  a  greater  part  of  the  time. 

Queen  Alexandra  was  seated  on  his  right, 
and  looked  very  sweet  and  pretty  in  a  violet- 
coloured  dress  and  hat  to  match.  She  carried 
in  her  hand  a  big  bouquet  of  flowers.  In  a 
moment  they  had  passed,  followed  by  more 
soldiers.  The  children  had  waved  their  hand- 
kerchiefs, and  Henry  and  Carrie  cheered  with 
the  rest. 

"  We  are  going  in  your  direction,  and  I  will 
see  you  safely  on  your  'bus,  or  perhaps  you 
had  better  take  a  cab,"  said  Adelaide's  mother, 
to  their  new  friends,  as  they  walked  to  the  big 
gateway  of  the  park. 

"  Thank  you,  ma'am,"  said  the  little  Ameri- 
can children,  "  but  we  would  rather  go  on  top 
of  the  'bus ;  it  is  more  fun,  and  we  can  see 
more." 

"  Good-bye,"  the  young  Americans  shouted, 


London  65 

as  they  climbed  on  their  'bus.  "  You  must 
come  and  see  us  when  you  come  to  New 
York,"  called  out  Carrie,  as  with  smiles  and 
waving  hands  the  clumsy  'bus  rolled  them 
away. 

"  What  would  you  like  to  show  Edith  to- 
day ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Stamford  of  her  little  daugh- 
ter, as  they  sat  at  the  breakfast-table  the  next 
morning.  "  You  will  have  a  holiday  from 
your  lessons  while  Edith  is  here,  so  Miss 
Winton  will  go  with  you  to-day." 

"  Of  course  she  must  see  Westminster 
Abbey,  and  the  Tower  of  London,  and  Ma- 
dame Tussaud's,  and  the  Zoo,"  said  Adelaide, 
in  one  breath. 

"  Not  all  in  one  day,"  laughed  her  mother. 
"  Suppose  you  go  to  the  Abbey  this  morning 
and  drive  with  me  this  afternoon  to  Kensing- 
ton Palace.    Then  see  the  Tower  to-morrow." 

The  girls  were  soon  ready.  "  Let  us  walk, 
Miss  Winton,"  said  Adelaide,  as  they  crossed 


66      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

the  gardens  into  the  busy  street.  "  There  is 
so  much  we  can  show  Edith  on  the  way  to 
the  Abbey.  See,  Edith,  there  is  Buckingham 
Palace,  where  the  king  lives  when  he  is  in 
London." 

It  did  not  look  as  handsome  as  one  imagines 
a  palace  ought  to  look ;  it  seemed  rather  dark 
and  gloomy,  though  it  was  a  big  building. 

"  You  can  tell  that  the  king  is  there  because 
the  royal  standard  is  flying  over  the  roof," 
explained  Adelaide.  "  That  is  the  Royal 
Family's  own  flag.  It  is  made  of  the  three 
coat-of-arms  of  the  three  kingdoms  which 
compose  Great  Britain,  —  the  three  golden 
lions  of  England,  the  one  rampant  red  lion 
of  Scotland,  and  the  gold  harp  of  Ireland.  It 
is  different,  you  will  see,  from  the  ordinary 
flag  of  England,  called  the  c  Union  Jack/ 
and  more  elaborate  and  beautiful,"  said  Miss 
Winton.  "  The  design  of  the  c  Union  Jack' 
is    made    of  the   three   crosses   of  the    three 


London  67 

ancient  patron  saints  of  Great  Britain,  —  St. 
George  of  England,  St.  Andrew  of  Scotland, 
and  St.  Patrick  of  Ireland." 

They  crossed  St.  James's  Park,  which  is  in 
front  of  the  palace,  and  a  few  minutes'  walk 
brought  them  to  the  beautiful  church  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  which  is  the  pride  of  every 
Englishman. 

Here,  in  front  of  the  great  altar,  the  Eng- 
lish kings  and  queens  have  been  crowned,  and 
many  of  them  lie  buried  in  the  chapels  which 
surround  the  choir. 

Edith  saw  the  coronation  chair,  which  is 
very  old,  and  on  which  the  sovereigns  sit  when 
the  crown  is  placed  on  their  heads  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

Many  monuments  of  good  and  great  people, 
as  well  as  of  kings  and  queens,  fill  the  Abbey 
to  overflowing ;  for  Englishmen  consider  it  a 
great  honour  to  be  buried  under  the  stone 
floor  of  the  Abbey. 


68      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

But  perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  is 
what  is  called  the  "  Poets'  Corner,"  where 
most  of  the  great  English  poets  are  either 
buried,  or  have  monuments  erected  to  their 
memory. 

Our  little  American  cousins  will  see  there  a 
marble  bust  of  their  poet  Longfellow,  erected 
by  admirers  of  his  in  England. 

"  Do  you  see  that  stone  in  the  floor  with 
the  flowers  on  it?  "  said  Miss  Winton  ;  "  that 
is  the  grave  of  the  great  author,  Charles 
Dickens,  who  wrote  the  touching  story  I 
read  to  you,  Adelaide,  of  c  Little  Nell '  and 
her  grandfather,  called  c  The  Old  Curiosity 
Shop/ 

"  '  The  Old  Curiosity  Shop  '  itself  is  still  to 
be  seen,  which  is  the  same  house,  it  is  claimed, 
that  Dickens  took  for  the  imaginary  home  of 
c  Little  Nell/  and  where  she  took  such  good 
care  of  her  grandfather." 

As    they    left    the    Abbey,    Miss    Winton 


London  69 

pointed  out  to  Edith  the  great  Houses  of 
Parliament,  where  the  laws  of  the  kingdom 
are  made. 

"  Let  us  stop,  Miss  Winton,  and  have  a 
glass  of  milk  from  the  cows  as  we  go  through 
the  park,"  said  Adelaide,  as  they  walked 
on. 

"  Do  they  have  cows  in  London  ? "  asked 
Edith. 

"  Well,  it  does  not  seem  likely,  does  it," 
smiled  Miss  Winton,  "  but  these  cows  have 
very  old  rights  to  be  in  St.  James's  Park,  not 
so  very  far  from  the  Royal  Palace,  which  you 
saw  this  morning.  Many  years  ago,  before 
London  became  the  biggest  city  in  the  world, 
as  it  now  is,  with  its  millions  of  people,  there 
used  to  be  a  big  c  Milk  Fair '  at  this  end  of 
the  park.  Here  were  brought  many  cows, 
and  their  milk  was  sold  to  the  good  people  of 
London.  Now  all  that  remains  of  this  '  Milk 
Fair '  are  the  two  cows  you  see  yonder,  teth- 


70      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

ered  under  the  trees  eating  grass  as  com- 
posedly as  if  they  were  out  on  a  country 
farm. 

"  The  cows  do  not  know  how  nearly  they 
came  to  losing  their  comfortable  quarters 
lately ;  for  a  new  street  is  being  put  through 
to  connect  the  park  with  Trafalgar  Square,  and 
those  in  charge  of  the  work  decided  the  poor 
cows  were  in  the  way  and  must  go.  This 
nearly  broke  the  hearts  of  the  two  old  sisters, 
who  own  the  cows,  and  sell  the  milk.  So 
they  petitioned  King  Edward  that  they  and 
their  cows  might  remain  undisturbed.  The 
king  kindly  gave  them  permission,  only  they 
will  have  to  move  a  few  hundred  yards  away 
from  their  present  place  so  as  not  to  interfere 
with  the  new  street." 

Under  a  wooden  shelter  the  children  found 
the  two  old  ladies  filling  glasses  with  milk  for 
the  boys  and  girls  who  are  now  about  the  only 
patrons    of  the   "  Milk    Fair."     Perhaps    the 


London  71 

sweetmeats  and  cakes  that  are  also  to  be 
bought  there  attract  them  as  well. 

"  Now,  we  must  hurry  home,"  said  Miss 
Winton,  "  or  we  shall  be  late  for  lunch. " 

After  lunch  Mrs.  Stamford  drove  with  the 
little  girls  to  Kensington  Palace.  This  is 
another  palace  belonging  to  the  king.  You 
see  royalty  had  plenty  of  homes  scattered 
around,  so  when  they  got  tired  of  one  they 
could  move  into  another. 

This  palace  is  principally  of  interest  because  it 
was  the  first  home  of  Queen  Victoria.  But  what 
the  children  like  to  see  are  the  toys  she  played 
with  during  her  childhood  in  the  old  palace. 

They  are  all  kept  in  the  queen's  old  nursery. 
Edith  and  Adelaide  looked  at  them  with  a 
hushed  reverence,  though  they  were  plain, 
simple  little  things,  —  some  dolls  and  dolls' 
house  furniture,  not  half  so  fine  as  the  toys 
they  had  themselves  at  home,  for  the  queen 
had  been  brought  up  very  simply. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

THE    TOWER    OF    LONDON 

"  Let's  go  to  the  Tower  on  top  of  a  'bus/' 
clamoured  the  little  girls,  and  it  did  not  take 
long  for  them  to  scramble  up  on  to  the  first 
one  that  came  along.  "It  is  so  nice  and 
wobbly,''  they  declared,  "and  the  people  in 
the  streets  seem  so  far  below."  If  one  gets 
a  seat  just  back  of  the  driver,  who  is  generally 
a  jovial  good  fellow,  he  will  tell  you  a  lot 
about  London,  as  he  drives  along,  for  these 
drivers  are  a  sociable  class  of  men.  It  is  won- 
derful to  see  them  guiding  the  big  clumsy 
'buses  through  the  mass  of  people  and  vehicles 
of  all  kinds  —  costers'  carts,  automobiles,  big 
lumbering  wagons,   and   hansom   cabs   flitting 

about  like  busy  flies.     As  often  as  not  you 

73 


The  Tower  of  London  73 

will  see  a  wagon,  with  a  big  load  of  hay,  nearly 
blocking  up  the  street,  and  next  to  it  a  stylish 
carriage  with  footmen  in  livery.  Oh,  you 
can  see  almost  anything  in  the  London  streets. 
But  the  picturesque  old  omnibuses  are  soon  to 
disappear,  and  automobile  'buses  are  to  take 
their  places. 

I  must  tell  you  what  a  coster  is.  Costers 
are  people  who  go  to  the  great  London  market, 
called  Covent  Garden,  and  buy  cheap  vegeta- 
bles and  fruits  and  flowers,  and  sell  them  in  the 
poorer  parts  of  the  city.  The  coster  men  dress 
in  velveteen  suits  trimmed  with  rows  and  rows 
of  pearl  buttons,  which  they  call  "  pearlies." 
They  are  very  proud  of  these  costumes.  The 
women  wear  bright,  gaudily  coloured  dresses, 
and  very  big  hats,  covered  with  feathers. 
They  hawk  their  wares  about  in  barrows  or 
little  carts,  drawn  by  such  a  tiny  donkey  (a 
"  moke  "  as  the  costers  call  it),  that  you  wonder 
how  he  is  able  to  pull  a  whole  family  of  costers 


74      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

as  well  as  a  big  load  of  vegetables,  as  they 
often  do. 

"  Edith,  that  is  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  just 
ahead  of  us ;  you  can  see  its  big  dome  for 
miles  around,  and  now  we  are  in  the  old  part 
of  London,"  explained  Miss  Winton.  "  Just 
beyond  is  Bunhill  Fields,  where  Daniel  Defoe 
who  wrote  that  immortal  children's  story  — 
f  Robinson  Crusoe*  —  is  buried.  A  plain 
shaft  or  obelisk  rises  above  his  grave,  and 
not  so  very  long  ago  the  children  of  England 
were  asked  to  give  a  penny  each  toward  build- 
ing this  monument  to  the  memory  of  the 
author  of  their  favourite  story-book.  Many 
children  responded  and  enough  money  was 
raised  for  the  purpose.  You  will  see  that  the 
inscription  on  it  tells  the  story." 

The  little  girls  were  much  impressed,  and 
Edith  said  she  would  tell  Clarence  and  Elea- 
nor about  it,  as  they  had  just  been  reading 
about  Robinson  Crusoe  and  his  desert  island. 


The  Tower  of  London  75 

"  Are  not  the  '  Beefeaters  '  splendid  ?  "  said 
Adelaide,  as  they  passed  through  the  old 
gateway  into  the  Tower  of  London.  "  There 
is  the  one,  Miss  Winton,  who  talked  with 
mamma  and  me  the  last  time  we  were  here. 
I  believe  he  remembers  me  and  is  coming  this 
way.  He  had  a  tame  raven  which  he  showed 
us.  See,  Edith,  there  are  a  number  of  ravens 
flying  about ;  they  make  their  home  among 
the  old  buildings,  and  the  keepers  feed  them." 

"  Good  morning,  miss,"  said  the  old  man, 
as  he  came  up.  "  I  am  very  pleased  to  see 
you  again,"  and  he  bowed  politely  to  the 
little  girls. 

He  was  indeed  as  fine  as  a  picture.  The 
"Yeomen  of  the  Guard  "  hold  a  very  exclu- 
sive and  enviable  position.  They  attend  the 
king  on  all  grand  occasions.  Their  dress  is 
in  the  same  style  as  that  worn  in  the  time 
of  King  Henry  VIII.:  all  of  bright  red, 
trimmed  heavily  with  gold  braid,  a  big  white 


76      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

ruff  around  their  necks,  and  a  lovely  black 
velvet  hat.  They  carry  a  halberd,  or  sort 
of  lance  with  a  sharp  blade  at  the  end.  This 
is  the  dress  for  grand  occasions.  Their  every- 
day costume  is  in  the  same  style,  but  is  not 
quite  so  fine. 

"  How  is  the  raven  ? "  asked  Adelaide. 
"  My  cousin  would  so  much  like  to  see  him." 

"There  he  is  now.  Come  here, '  Blackie,'" 
and  he  whistled  to  the  solemn  bird  that  came 
hopping  over  the  grass. 

"  Does  he  not  look  wise,  Edith  ?  and  he  can 
do  all  sorts  of  tricks." 

The  bird  flew  on  to  his  master's  cap,  and 
peered  down  over  the  rim  of  it  at  him,  as 
much  as  to  say  "  bo-peep,"  and  then  leaned 
over  and  took  a  bit  of  sugar  out  of  the  old 
man's  mouth.  After  watching  other  antics 
our  little  friends  bade  the  "Beefeater"  and 
his  pet  good-bye  and  continued  th^r  walk 
around  the  Tower,  which  is  really  much  iiio;c 


'     mm 


"  AFTER  WATCHING    OTHER    ANTICS    OUR    LITTLE    FRIENDS 
BADE   THE    'BEEFEATER'    AND    HIS    PET    GOOD- BYE  " 


The  Tower  of  London  77 

than  a  single  tower.  It  is  a  big  group  of 
buildings,  with  a  square  tower  in  the  middle, 
a  high  wall  around  it  ail,  and  a  deep  moat 
which  was  once  filled  with  water.  The 
"  Tower "  is  very,  very  old ;  it  was  used  for 
a  prison,  and  whenever  anybody  did  some- 
thing the  king  did  not  like,  he  was  put  on  a 
boat  and  rowed  down  to  the  Tower  and 
locked  up  in  one  of  the  dungeons,  and  often 
many  prisoners  had  their  heads  chopped  off, 
and  some  of  these  were  high-born  ladies,  too  ! 

"  I  am  glad  I  did  not  live  in  those  days, 
when  they  could  cut  off  people's  heads," 
said  Edith,  who  shuddered  as  she  looked  at 
the  block  of  wood  on  which  a  poor  queen's 
head  was  once  cut  off. 

f£  Yes,  the  Tower  is  full  of  dark  memories," 
said  Miss  Winton.  "You  know  the  sad  story 
of  the  two  little  boy  princes  who  lived  in  this 
gloomy  Tower,  and  how  they  were  supposed 
to  have  been  put  to  death  by  their  cruel  uncle, 


78      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

who  was  King  Richard  III.,  and  wanted  them 
out  of  his  way. 

"  Long  afterward,  in  repairing  one  of  the 
walls,  the  workmen  found  buried  in  a  hole  in 
the  wall  the  bones  of  two  small  children, 
which  were  supposed  to  be  those  of  the  poor 
little  princes,  which  had  been  hidden  there 
after  their  untimely  death.  Many  dreadful 
things  were  done  in  those  old  days  which 
could    never    happen    now." 

"  Now  let  us  see  something  bright,"  said 
Miss  Winton, "  and  leave  these  gloomy  things 
behind." 

"  I  know  what  you  mean ;  now  is  the  time 
for  the  c  Crown  Jewels,'  "  cried  Adelaide. 

Our  two  little  friends  quickly  ran  up  the 
winding  stone  stairs  of  a  small  round  tower 
where  the  Crown  Jewels  are  always  kept 
when  the  king  and  queen  are  not  wearing 
them. 

Edith  was  dazzled  by  the  glittering  things 


The  Tower  of  London  79 

which  filled  a  large  glass  case  in  the  centre  of 
the  room. 

There  were  crowns  covered  with  all  kinds 
of  precious  stones,  and  sceptres,  and  other  old 
and  valuable  relics,  all  gold  and  jewels.  But 
no  one  is  allowed  to  linger  long  in  here,  and 
before  the  children  had  half  time  enough  to 
see  all,  they  found  themselves  again  in  the 
yard. 

"  I  wonder  what  Carrie  and  Henry  White 
thought  of  the  jewels  when  they  came  to  the 
tower/'  said  Edith. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  they  greatly 
enjoyed  seeing  it  all.  The  American  children 
are  as  fond  of  a  visit  to  the  Tower  as  the 
English  children,"  and  Miss  Winton  smiled  as 
they  drove  through  the  dark,  narrow  streets  of 
old  London,  to  their  home  in  the  newer  and 
brighter  part  of  the  town. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

MADAME    TUSSAUD'S    AND    THE    ZOO 

"  Mamma  is  going  herself  with  us  to-day," 
said  Adelaide,  as  the  two  cousins  went  down- 
stairs to  the  breakfast-room,  with  their  arms 
around  each  other.  Walking  down  a  stairway 
in  this  manner  is  not  easy,  for  one  must  keep 
step,  but  after  much  laughter  they  got  there, 
and  sat  down  to  their  toast  and  eggs  and  jam 
with  a  good  appetite. 

"What  are  we  going  to  see  to-day,  aunty?" 
asked  Edith,  holding  Fluff  while  Adelaide  put 
down  his  saucer  of  milk,  for  his  Highness  had 
a  way  of  trying  to  lift  it.  down  himself  with  his 
paws,  to  the  detriment  of  the  rug. 

"  Suppose  we  make  a  day  of  it,  that  is,  if 

you  young  people  are  not  tired,"  and  Mrs. 

80 


Madame  Tussaud's  and  the  Zoo  81 

Stamford  smiled  as  the  little  girls  broke  in  with 
a  chorus  of  "  No,  indeeds."  "  Then  we  will 
go  to  Madame  Tussaud's  this  morning,  and 
from  there  to  the  'Zoo/  and  have  lunch  in  the 
gardens." 

"  Oh,  lovely  !  lovely  !  "  said  the  little  girls, 
and,  giving  Mrs.  Stamford  a  kiss,  they  ran  up- 
stairs to  get  ready  so  that  no  time  should  be 
lost  in  getting  off. 

Perhaps  you  don't  know  that  Madame 
Tussaud's  and  the  "  Zoo  "  are  the  two  attrac- 
tions that  English  children  most  enjoy  seeing. 

Madame  Tussaud's  Wax-works  are  famous 
the  world  over,  and  though  there  are  other 
wax-works  in  various  cities,  such  as  the  Eden 
Musee  in  New  York,  which  have  been  mod- 
elled on  this  one  in  London,  Madame  Tus- 
saud's will  always  linger  in  one's  mind  as  the 
greatest  show  of  its  kind. 

"  They  look  like  real  people,"  said  Edith, 
as  they  walked  through    the    big   room  with 


82      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

hundreds  of  wax  figures  in  all  kinds  of  cos- 
tumes. There  were  kings  and  queens  and 
great  people  of  a  bygone  time  in  rich  court 
costumes,  as  well  as  great  and  notorious  people 
of  the  present  day.  Though  Adelaide  had 
visited  it  many  times,  she  was  just  as  much 
interested  as  Edith,  who  was  seeing  it  for  the 
first  time.  But  when  they  came  to  the 
"Chamber  of  Horrors"  one  look  was  enough 
for  poor  Edith,  and  Mrs.  Stamford  had  to  take 
her  out,  pale  and  trembling.  Its  realistic 
horrors  were  too  much  for  her,  and  her  aunt 
and  cousin  were  quite  worried,  but  in  a  minute 
she  had  recovered  and  laughed  at  herself  for 
her  fright. 

After  this  Mrs.  Stamford  declared  that  they 
must  look  at  nothing  more  than  the  travelling 
carriage  of  the  great  Napoleon.  It  was  in 
this  carriage  that  the  great  general  drove  to  the 
Battle  of  Waterloo,  where  he  met  his  defeat. 
It  was  like  a  small  house  on  wheels,  and  Mrs. 


Madame  Tussauds  and  the  Zoo  83 

Stamford  pointed  out  how  a  desk  was  built  in 
one  corner  and  how  a  small  table  could  be  let 
down  for  the  emperor  to  eat  from.  There  was 
a  bookcase  with  his  favourite  books,  and  the 
seats  were  so  arranged  that  they  could  be  used 
for  a  bed.  Of  course  it  is  much  heavier  and 
bigger  than  a  carriage  of  to-day,  but  what  did 
that  matter  with  four  horses  to  pull  it  ? 

The  "Zoo"  is  the  playground  of  London 
children,  and  in  the  afternoons,  and  on  Satur- 
day half-holidays,  hundreds  of  children  go 
there  to  see  the  animals  and  have  tea  under  the 
trees. 

"  We  will  have  lunch  first,"  said  Mrs.  Stam- 
ford, as  they  left  their  carriage  at  the  gate  and 
walked  through  the  beautifully  kept  grounds. 
"  There  is  a  table  in  a  shady  nook  under  the 
trees  where  lunches  and  teas  are  served. " 

"  Oh,  what  is  that  ?  "  said  Edith,  and  she 
gave  a  scream  as  something  cold  and  slippery 
came  creeping  over  her  shoulder. 


84      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

"  It's  nothing  but  the  big  elephant,  who  wants 
you  to  give  him  a  lump  of  sugar,"  said  Ade- 
laide, laughing,  and  she  turned  her  cousin 
around  and  there  was  the  great  big  elephant, 
with  a  merry  party  of  young  people  in  the 
"  howdah  "  on  his  back,  holding  out  his  trunk, 
just  like  a  person  begging. 

He  is  a  great  pet  with  the  children,  and  fol- 
lows them  about  like  a  dog,  holding  out  his 
trunk  for  the  sugar  and  cakes  with  which  they 
are  always  feeding  him. 

"  We  will  take  a  ride  on  him  after  lunch," 
said  Adelaide,  but  when  the  time  came  it 
was  hard  to  persuade  Edith  to  mount  to  the 
seat  on  his  back ;  it  looked  so  high  up  and 
wobbly.  Finally  the  driver  lifted  her  up  in 
his  arms,  and  after  all  His  Majesty  moved  off 
so  easily  that  Edith  did  not  mind  it  at  all,  and 
was  sorry  when  the  very  short  ride  came  to  an 
end. 

"  Oh,  now  for  the  lions  and  tigers  ;  it's  about 


Madame  Tussaud's  and  the  Zoo  85 

their  feeding-time ;  it  is  great  fun  to  see  them 
eat,"  said  Adelaide. 

So  she  led  her  cousin  into  the  house  where 
the  big  lions  and  long  sleek  tigers  were  stalking 
about  their  cages.  There  was  a  general  com- 
motion among  the  animals,  for  they  knew  that 
it  was  dinner-time. 

"  There  is  the  Black  Panther.  Isn't  he  a 
beauty  ?  I  believe  he  is  the  only  one  in  cap- 
tivity/* said  Mrs.  Stamford. 

"  He  looks  like  a  big  black  pussy,  and  I 
would  like  to  stroke  his  head,"  said  Edith,  as 
she  admired  the  black  beauty. 

"You  would  never  want  to  do  it  again," 
laughed  Adelaide. 

Just  then  the  keepers  came  in  with  heaped-up 
baskets  of  raw  meat.  Such  a  noise,  you  never 
heard.  Edith  caught  hold  of  her  aunt  as  if 
she  feared  they  would  break  through  their  iron 
cages. 

After  this   they  visited  the   birds  and  the 


86      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

monkeys,  and  lastly  the  house  where  the  big 
snakes  lived.     Oh,  such  snakes  ! 

"  They  are  fascinating,  but  creepy,"  Adelaide 
said,  as  they  watched  the  big  boa-constrictors, 
such  as  you  read  about  in  "  The  Swiss  Family 
Robinson  "  —  yards  and  yards  long,  with  wicked 
eyes. 

The  general  impression  is  that  children  never 
get  tired,  but  after  these  young  people  had 
partaken  of  their  evening  meal  in  the  school- 
room, they  were  quite  ready  for  bed. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and,  after  a  little 
later  breakfast  than  usual,  the  two  cousins, 
looking  fresh  and  pretty  in  their  delicate  frocks 
and  dainty  flower-trimmed  straw  hats,  each 
carrying  a  prayer-book,  were  ready  to  accom- 
pany Mrs.  Stamford  to  church. 

After  church  they  strolled  through  the  park, . 
as  is  the  Sunday  custom  in  London.     "  Church 
Parade "  it  is  called ;  where  everybody  meets 
everybody   else.      They    promenade   up    and 


Madame  Tussaud's  and  the  Zoo  87 

down  the  walks  or  sit  in  the  "  penny  "  chairs. 
Friends  gossip  together,  and  make  engage- 
ments for  the  coming  week. 

It  might  be  called  an  out-of-door  reception. 
Mrs.  Stamford  sat  talking  with  some  friends 
while  Adelaide  and  Edith  watched  the  young 
people,  who  were  out  in  full  force  with  their 
parents  or  nurse-maids.  Everybody  was  in 
their  prettiest  clothes,  and  looked  bright  and 

"  Mamma  will  have  visitors  this  afternoon, 
so  let  us  take  a  book  into  the  gardens  and 
read,"  said  Adelaide. 

Every  family  who  has  a  house  in  one  of 
these  garden  squares  pays  something  toward 
keeping  up  the  garden,  which  is  kept  locked,  and 
only  those  who  live  in  the  square  have  keys 
and  can  enter.  There  are  seats  and  shady  walks 
and  a  grass  plot  for  tennis  and  croquet ;  so  it 
is  quite  like  having  your  own  garden. 

This  was  Edith's  last  day  in  London.     Mrs. 


88      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

Howard  was  coming  the  next  day,  and  Edith 
was  to  return  with  her. 

"  You  must  come  again ;  you  have  only 
seen  a  little  bit  of  London/'  said  Mrs.  Stam- 
ford. "There  is  much  more  to  show  you 
yet" 

"  Remember  you  are  coming  up  for  Lord 
Mayor's  day,"  were  Adelaide's  last  words,  and 
with  kisses  Edith  parted  from  her  aunt  and 
cousin  with  reluctance. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


HENLEY    WEEK. 


cc  Did  you  ever  see  anything  so  lovely  ?  It 
looks  like  a  garden  full  of  flowers  of  all 
colours,"  exclaimed  Edith,  enthusiastically,  as 
she  and  Adelaide  leaned  over  the  railing  of 
Colonel  Howard's  house-boat,  and  looked  up 
and  down  the  river. 

I  am  sure  every  one  would  agree  with  her, 
if  they  could  be  at  the  picturesque  little  village 
of  Henley-on-Thames  during  "  the  week,"  as 
it  is  known.  That  is  when  the  boat-races  are 
held  there.  It  is  the  great  open-air  society 
event  for  the  younger  people  of  England ,  a 
great  water  fete  or  picnic.  The  nicest  way  to 
enjoy  the  boat-races  is  to  have  a  house-boat 

89 


90      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

and  live  on  it  during  the  week,  then  one  is  on 
the  spot  all  the  time. 

A  house-boat  is  really  a  small  house  that  is 
built  on  a  flat  boat,  so  that  it  can  be  towed 
from  place  to  place  at  its  owner's  pleasure. 
There  is  a  big  room  with  perhaps  two  or  more 
small  bedrooms.  At  the  back  is  a  tiny  kitchen 
and  a  larder  or  pantry. 

Cf  It's  just  like  dolls  keeping  house ;  isn't  it 
lovely,  mamma  ?  "  declared  Edith. 

"Well,  yes,"  said  Mrs.  Howard,  thought- 
fully, as  she  looked  in  at  the  tiny  larder.  "  It 
is  all  very  well  for  Henley,  but  I  believe  I  do 
prefer  the  manor." 

Colonel  Howard's  house-boat  was  very 
pretty  and  attractive.  "  The  jolliest  on  the 
river,"  Tom  declared,  and  as  Tom  was  an 
important  person  on  this  occasion,  his  good 
opinion  was  valued  by  his  family. 

Over  the  roof,  which  was  used  for  a  general 
open-air  sitting-room,  was  a  brilliant  red  and 


Henley  Week  91 

white  awning,  and  around  the  edge  of  the  roof 
or  deck  was  a  border  of  a  solid  mass  of  flowers, 
splendid  red  geraniums  and  big  white  daisies, 
while  hanging  down  from  these  was  a  fringe  of 
green  vines,  all  of  which  looked  very  pretty 
with  the  brass  railings  around  the  deck,  and 
the  bright  woodwork  of  the  boat  itself,  which 
was  painted  white  with  green  Venetian  blinds 
at  the  windows. 

The  deck  was  covered  over  with  rugs,  and 
there  were  plenty  of  wicker  lounging  chairs 
and  cushions.  Meals  were  served  sometimes 
on  desk ;  sometimes  in  the  big  room  below. 

All  the  house-boats  here  were  decorated  in 
some  such  way,  and  made  a  pretty  picture,  tied 
up  to  the  shore  on  one  side  of  the  river  —  a 
long  line  of  them.  Their  occupants  entertained 
their  friends  on  board,  and  there  was  much 
visiting  done  from  one  to  another. 

The  course  of  one  mile,  along  which  the 
races  are  rowed,  is  "staked  orT"  by  "booms" 


92      Our  Little   English  Cousin 

or  logs  tied  together.  On  either  side  of  this 
course  lay  thousands  of  small  boats  as  tightly 
packed  together  as  could  be,  for  naturally 
every  one  wanted  to  get  as  near  the  racing  boats 
as  possible. 

The  ladies  were  all  dressed  in  the  loveliest  of 
dresses  of  all  colours, — pale  pinks,  blues,  and 
lavenders,  as  well  as  white,  with  sunshades  to 
match.  If  it  happens  to  be  showery  weather, 
dear  me !  Many  a  pretty  hat  and  dress  is 
spoilt.  But  this  was  a  "  dry "  Henley,  with 
brilliant  sunshine,  so  Edith  was  right  when  she 
said  the  river  looked  like  a  garden  of  flowers. 

The  men  looked  very  cool  and  comfortable 
in  their  white  flannel  suits  and  straw  hats. 

Along  both  river  banks  were  big  tents,  which 
were  used  as  club-houses  by  the  various  boat 
clubs  who  were  rowing  in  the  races,  while 
thousands  of  spectators  lined  either  side  of  the 
river.  English  people  take  a  great  interest  in 
all  kinds  of  sports,  but  they  are  specially  fond 


Henley  Week  93 

of  boating,  and  they  cheer  the  winning  crews 
at  Henley  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 

This  afternoon  the  race  in  which  Tom  was 
to  row  was  coming  off,  and  the  Howard  family 
was  in  a  great  flutter  of  excitement.  The  crew 
of  Tom's  boat  were  to  take  dinner  afterward 
on  their  house-boat,  and  if  they  should  prove  the 
winners  they  would  have  an  especially  jolly  feast. 

Friends  of  the  Howards  from  Oxford  had 
the  house-boat  next  to  theirs  —  their  eldest 
son  was  in  one  of  the  competing  boats  for  the 
"  Ladies'  Plate,"  and  their  two  little  boys, 
the  nine-year-old  twins,  Edgar  and  Will,  held 
great  discussions  with  Edith  and  Adelaide  over 
the  merits  of  the  two  rival  boat  crews. 

The  little  girls'  loyalty  to  Eton  never  wavered, 
while  the  "  Twins,"  as  they  were  always  called, 
had  a  great  contempt  for  any  boat  crew  that  did 
not  have  their  brother  George  in  it. 

The  "  Twins "  were  particularly  arrogant 
this    afternoon,   for   the    rumour    had  gained 


94      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

ground  that  George's  boat  would  prove  the 
best.  However,  the  cry,  "  They  have  started," 
put  an  end  to  all  talk. 

It  was  one  of  the  favourite  races  of  the 
week,  and  everybody  was  wild.  On  they 
came,  the  young  fellows  straining,  and  the  oars 
glittering  as  they  flew  in  and  out  of  the  water. 
At  first  Eton  was  left  behind,  but  they  drew 
up  little  by  little  on  their  rivals.  Side  by  side 
the  rival  crews  kept,  nearly  up  to  goal,  when 
with  a  supreme  effort  Eton  gave  a  spurt  for- 
ward, and  won  by  half  a  boat's  length.  Such 
cheers  as  went  up  !  The  Etonians  were  the 
heroes  for  the  rest  of  the  day. 

You  may  imagine  the  joy  of  Tom's  family, 
who  were  prouder  of  him  than  ever,  and  in 
the  eyes  of  the  little  girls  he  had  grown  sev- 
eral inches  taller.  Don't  you  think  it  was  very 
good  of  the  girls  when  they  went  over  after- 
ward to  take  tea  with  the  cc  Twins  "  that  they 
did  not  crow  over  them  a  bit  ? 


CHAPTER   IX. 


SUMMER    HOLIDAYS 


It  was  the  midsummer  holidays.  "  No 
more  lessons/'  said  Edith,  as  she  danced 
around  the  schoolroom.  Soon,  however,  she 
rushed  up  to  Miss  Green.  "  But  I  will  miss 
you,  dear  Miss  Green.  I  wish  you  were  going 
with  us,"  and  the  warm-hearted  little  girl 
threw  her  arms  around  her  governess. 

Miss  Green  was  also  to  take  a  holiday,  and 
visit  her  old  home  in  the  fine  old  town  of 
Canterbury,  which  is  one  of  the  most  historic 
places  in  England,  best  known  for  its  splendid 
cathedral,  one  of  the  grandest  of  the  many 
cathedrals  of  England. 

Edith  herself  was  going  to  spend  a  part  of 
the    summer   holidays   in    Warwickshire,   one 

95 


96      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

of  the  prettiest  parts  of  England,  —  a  lovely 
rolling  country  of  fields,  farms,  thatch-roofed 
cottages,  and  great  country  houses. 

While  there  they  were  to  visit  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  the  home  of  the  great  poet  Shake- 
speare. 

Edith  caught  the  first  glimpse  of  the  old 
church  with  a  tall  steeple,  where  the  great 
poet  is  buried,  as  she  walked  down  the  path 
by  the  river  Avon.  There  were  visitors  in 
the  church,  as  there  always  are,  for  there  is  no 
spot  in  the  world  more  visited  than  this. 

People  come  to  this  church  from  all  over 
the  world,  and  the  American  cousins  think  as 
much  of  it  as  the  English  themselves.  Edith 
stood  looking  at  the  worn  stone  in  the  floor 
before  the  altar.  It  was  difficult  to  realize  that 
under  this  lay  the  ashes  of  the  great  Shake- 
speare. 

They  were  alone  in  the  church  now ;  the 
other  visitors  had  gone,  and  Colonel  and  Mrs. 


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Summer  Holidays  97 

Howard  were  resting  in  a  pew,  when  Edith's 
childish  voice  broke  the  silence  of  the  old 
church,  as  she  slowly  spelled  out  the  strange 
inscription  on  the  stone. 

**  Good  frend  for  Jesus  sake  forbeare, 
To  digg  the  dust  encloased  heare  : 
Blese  be  ye  man  y*  spares  thes  stones, 
And  curst  be  he  yt  moves  my  bones." 

cc  How  funny  some  of  the  words  are,  papa," 
she  said. 

<c  Yes,  that  is  the  old  way  of  spelling,  as  it 
was  in  Shakespeare's  time,"  answered  Colonel 
Howard. 

They  then  walked  through  the  neat  little 
market-town  to  Shakespeare's  house.  It  had 
been  repaired  many  times,  but  always  to  look 
as  nearly  like  the  original  as  possible. 

Then  they  went  to  the  famous  old  inn,  the 
Red  Lion,  for  their  dinner,  where  the  Ameri- 
can author,  Washington  Irving,  stayed,  while 


98      Our  Little  English  Cousin 

he  wrote  some  of  his  charming  stones  about 
English  country  life. 

From  Stratford,  our  friends  went  to  War- 
wick, which  is  most  interesting,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  picturesque  old  town  with  its 
ancient  houses,  but  because  of  its  great  castle 
as  well. 

Edith's  papa  and  mamma  wanted  her  to  see 
this  castle,  which  is  one  of  the  finest  places  in 
England,  and  one  of  the  few  examples  of  an 
old  feudal  castle  which  is  still  occupied  and 
kept  as  it  was  hundreds  of  years  ago. 

"  Is  not  this  a  lovely  old  room,  mamma?" 
said  Edith,  as  they  sat  at  breakfast  in  the 
coffee-room,  or  dining-room,  of  the  quaint 
inn  at  Warwick  at  which  they  were  staying. 
It  was  a  pretty  room,  with  walls  of  dark  oak 
panels.  Around  the  room  were  hung  many 
plates  and  dishes  of  fine  and  rare  old  English 
china.  A  big,  high  sideboard  stood  at  one 
end,  on  which  were   many  pieces  of  antique 


Summer  Holidays  99 

silverware,  also  some  good  pewter  mugs  and 
pitchers,  which  are  now  very  valuable,  and 
some  quaint  old  "  Toby  "  jugs,  which  are  in 
the  shape  of  a  fat  old  gentleman. 

Mrs.  Howard  poured  out  tea ;  and  the  sun 
sparkled  on  the  dainty  silver  and  pretty  china 
of  the  well-set  table. 

Edith  enjoyed  the  eggs  with  crisp  slices  of 
bacon,  and  buttered  toast,  while  the  neat  maid 
cut  for  Colonel  Howard  slices  of  cold  ham 
from  one  of  the  huge  joints  of  cold  meat  which 
stood  on  the  sideboard. 

Edith  admired  very  much  a  glass  case  of 
stuffed  birds  just  opposite  her,  such  as  one 
will  find  in  almost  every  country  inn  in  Eng- 
land. Over  the  door  was  another  favourite 
decoration,  a  model  of  an  enormous  trout. 

"  I  think  I  will  let  papa  take  you  over  the 
castle,  while  I  rest  here  and  write  some  letters/' 
said  Mrs.  Howard. 

So  Edith  and  her  papa  walked  through  the 


ioo    Our  Little  English  Cousin 

great  gateway  into  Warwick  Castle,  and  were 
taken,  with  some  other  visitors,  through  many 
of  the  fine  old  rooms,  filled  with  magnificent 
furniture,  and  pictures,  and  armour,  and  all 
kinds  of  valuable  and  ancient  things.  They 
saw  the  great  cedars  of  Lebanon,  which  were 
brought  from  the  Holy  Land,  and  planted 
in  the  garden  about  800  or  900  years  ago. 
That's  a  long  time,  isn't  it  ? 

The  beautiful,  rare,  white  peacocks  were 
also  to  be  seen  strutting  about  the  courtyard, 
spreading  their  great  white  tails  to  be  admired. 

Edith  had  much  to  tell  her  mamma  while 
they  were  eating  lunch.  Colonel  Howard 
also  told  his  little  daughter  of  other  beautiful 
houses  he  had  visited,  among  them  Haddon 
Hall  and  Welbeck  Abbey,  which  has  a  num- 
ber of  the  rooms  built  under  ground.  The 
owners  of  most  of  these  great  houses  in  Eng- 
land allow  visitors  to  go  through  the  principal 
apartments  on  certain  days  in  the  week. 


Summer  Holidays  101 

Ediths  papa  and  mamma  had  spent  the 
preceding  summer  on  the  "  Norfolk  Broads." 
The  "  Broads "  are  really  lakes  or  rivers, 
nearly  all  connected,  so  they  had  taken  a  sail- 
boat and  sailed  from  one  to  another,  living 
meanwhile  on  their  boat.  This  is  a  most 
enjoyable  way  of  spending  some  weeks,  and 
they  had  promised  to  go  again  some  time  and 
take  Edith. 

Near  the  "  Broads  "  is  a  spot  of  interest  to 
little  American  cousins,  —  the  town  of  Boston 
which  gave  its  name  to  the  American  city. 
There  is  a  great  contrast  between  the  great 
bustling  city  of  Boston  and  this  little  old  Eng- 
lish town.  There  is  a  tower  there  that  is 
called  the  "  Boston  Stump,"  why,  one  cannot 
imagine,  for  it  is  a  very  nice  church  tower,  and 
does  not  look  at  all  like  a  stump,  though  it 
stands  high  up  above  the  surrounding  flat 
country  like  a  mariner's  beacon. 

Our  party  visited  Oxford  as  well,  stopping 


102    Our  Little  English  Cousin 

just  long  enough  for  Edith  to  see  the  gray, 
time-stained  walls  of  the  many  colleges  which 
go  to  make  up  the  great  university  of  Oxford. 

"  This  is  where  Tom  is  coming  when  he 
finishes  at  Eton/'  said  Colonel  Howard,  as 
he  pointed  out  to  Edith  his  old  college  build- 
ing set  about  with  a  beautiful  green  lawn. 

From  here  they  returned  to  Oldham  Manor, 
but  in  August  Edith  went  with  her  parents 
to  Cowes,  on  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  the 
yacht  races  take  place.  Here  are  to  be  seen 
hundreds  of  sailboats,  and  big  steam  yachts  as 
well. 

Little  girls  do  not  often  go  to  Cowes,  for 
yachting  there  is  an  amusement  for  "  grown 
ups."  But  Edith's  parents  wanted  her  to 
enjoy  her  holidays  with  them  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, so  she  usually  went,  too.  Her  papa 
told  her  so  much  about  the  yachts,  that  she 
grew  very  wise  and  nautical,  and  they  used  to 
nickname  her  the  "  Little  Sailor." 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    LORD    MAYOR'S    SHOW 

One  of  the  great  events  in  the  life  of  an  Eng- 
lish child  is  to  be  able  to  go  to  London  to  the 
"  Lord  Mayor's  Show,"  which  takes  place 
every  year  on  the  9th  of  November.  Thou- 
sands of  families  from  all  over  the  country 
come  into  London  for  that  day,  and  bring  the 
young  folks. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  great  day,  the 

Howard  and  Stamford  families  had  taken  up 

their  position  at  two  of  the  big  windows  of  a 

hotel,  from  which  a  good  view  of  the  parade 

could    be    had.       Eleanor   and    Clarence    had 

come  up  with  the  Howards,  so  you  can  fancy 

what  a  merry  party  it  was. 

All    the    children    but    Edith    had    seen    it 
103 


104    Our  Little  English  Cousin 

before,  but  they  were  just  as  eager  as  if  it  were 
a  brand-new  sight.  As  for  Edith,  she  kept  her 
little  nose  glued  to  the  window-pane,  and 
hardly  winked  her  eyes  for  fear  she  might  miss 
something. 

The  "  Lord  Mayor's  Show,"  like  most  cus- 
toms in  England,  is  of  very  ancient  origin.  It 
has  always  been  considered  a  great  honour  to 
be  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  and  live  in  the 
Mansion  House,  as  his  home  is  called. 

All  children  remember  the  story  of  Dick 
Whittington  and  his  cat,  and  how  he  heard 
the  bells  of  London,  which  said  to  him  that  he 
would  become  Lord  Mayor  of  London ;  and 
I  believe  it  is  a  true  story,  too,  not  about  the 
bells  really  talking  to  him,  perhaps,  but  about 
the  little  country  boy  who  struggled  on,  and 
did  become  the  great  Lord  Mayor. 

The  Lord  Mayor's  rule  only  extends  over 
what  is  called  the  "  City,"  which  is  now  only 
a  small  part  of  big  London.     Long  ago,  when 


The  Lord  Mayor's  Show      105 

the  office  was  first  created,  what  is  now  the 
"  City  "  was  all  there  was  of  London.  It  was 
enclosed  at  that  time  by  walls. 

Well,  times  have  changed !  London  has 
spread  miles  away  on  every  side  from  the 
"  City,"  but  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London 
still  holds  almost  an  absolute  sway  over  his 
part  of  London.  Many  of  the  old  laws  still 
exist;  such  as  the  king  cannot  go  into  the 
"  City "  without  the  permission  of  the  Lord 
Mayor,  who  must  meet  him  at  the  city  boun- 
dary, and  present  a  sword  which  the  king 
touches,  and  then  he  can  pass  in.  Of  course 
this  is  only  a  form  now,  but  it  is  still  a  pic- 
turesque ceremony  which  usually  takes  place 
at  Temple  Bar  on  the  Strand.  Every  year  a 
new  Lord  Mayor  is  chosen,  and  the  "  Show," 
which  is  a  procession  that  passes  through  the 
principal  streets,  is  to  celebrate  his  incom- 
ing. 

Our  little  folks  were   becoming   impatient, 


io6    Our  Little  English  Cousin 

though  it  was  amusing  enough  to  watch  the 
vast  crowd  moved  hither  and  thither  by  the 
good-natured  policemen. 

Companies  of  strolling  minstrels  amused 
the  waiting  people,  singing  songs  and  cracking 
jokes,  while  the  vendors  of  the  funny,  coloured 
programmes  did  a  large  business. 

"  I  do  believe  they  are  coming  at  last." 
These  words  of  Adelaide's  brought  every 
head  as  far  out  of  the  windows  as  possible. 
Yes,  there  were  the  gorgeous  coaches  of  the 
Aldermen,  but  nothing  to  compare  to  the  one 
which  followed,  —  the  great,  gilded  coach  of 
the  Lord  Mayor  himself,  with  the  sword 
of  state  sticking  out  of  the  window,  because 
it  is  too  big  for  the  carriage.  You  never 
have  seen,  nor  will  ever  see,  anything  more 
splendid  than  the  coachman  to  the  Lord 
Mayor.  We  have  to  talk  about  him  first 
because  he  is  seen  first.  He  is  a  tremendous 
big  fellow  in  red  plush  knee-breeches,  with  a 


The  Lord  Mayors  Show     107 

coat  all  gold  braid  and  lace.  White  silk  stock- 
ings cover  his  portly  calves,  and  his  shoes 
sparkle  with  big  buckles ;  a  three-cornered  hat 
sits  pompously  on  his  big  powdered  wig,  and 
there  is  a  bouquet  in  his  coat,  beside  which  a 
cabbage  would  look  small.  Standing  behind 
the  carriage  are  two  footmen,  only  a  trifle  less 
magnificent. 

The  coachman  so  catches  the  young  people's 
eyes  they  scarcely  see  the  Lord  Mayor  inside 
the  gold  coach,  but  he  too  is  grand  in  his  fine 
robe  of  velvet  and  fur,  and  a  magnificent 
golden  chain  about  his  neck. 

Then  come  the  various  Guilds  or  Societies 
of  the  City  of  London.  The  Guild  of  Clock- 
makers,  and  the  Guild  of  Goldsmiths,  the 
Guild  of  Tanners,  and  many  others.  Then 
come  soldiers  and  bands  of  music,  and  floats 
or  wagons  on  which  are  symbolic  designs  and 
tableaux. 

The  people  cheer,  and  our  little  folks  clap 


io8    Our  Little  English  Cousin 

their  hands,  and  think  nothing  in  the  world 
could  be  so  grand. 

As  Adelaide's  mother  once  said  to  Edith, 
"  You  have  only  yet  seen  a  very  small  bit  of 
London."  There  is,  indeed,  much  more  to  be 
seen  in  this  great  old  city,  and  in  England,  for 
even  if  it  is  a  very  small  country  it  holds  a 
great  deal. 

But  we  must  for  the  present  bid  our  little 
English  cousins  cc  good-bye "  and  give  some 
other  little  cousin  a  chance. 


THE    END. 


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Findelkind.     By  Ouida. 

Fairy  of  the  Rhone,  The.    By  A.  Comyns  Carr. 

Qatty  and  I.     By  Frances  E.  Crompton. 

Helena's  Wonderworld.     By  Frances  Hodges  White. 

Jerry's  Reward.     By  Evelyn  Snead  Barnett. 

La  Belle  Nivernaise.    By  Alphonse  Daudet. 

Little  King  Davie.     By  Nellie  Hellis. 

Little  Peterkin  Vandike.     By  Charles  Stuart  Pratt. 

Little  Professor,  The.     By  Ida  Horton  Cash. 

Peggy's  Trial.     By  Mary  Knight  Potter. 

Prince  Yellowtop.     By  Kate  Whiting  Patch. 

Provence  Rose,  A.    By  Ouida. 

Seventh  Daughter,  A.     By  Grace  Wickham  Curran„ 

Sleeping  Beauty,  The.     By  Martha  Baker  Dunn. 

Small,  Small  Child,  A.     By  E.  Livingston  Prescott. 

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By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON 

The  Little  Colonel.       (Trade  Mark.) 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  Kentucky.  Its  hero- 
ine is  a  small  girl,  who  is  known  as  the  Little  Colonel, 
on  account  of  her  fancied  resemblance  to  an  old-school 
Southern  gentleman,  whose  fine  estate  and  old  family 
are  famous  in  the  region. 

The  Giant  Scissors. 

This  is  the  story  of  Joyce  and  of  her  adventures 
in  France.  Joyce  is  a  great  friend  of  the  Little  Colonel, 
and  in  later  volumes  shares  with  her  the  delightful  ex- 
periences of  the  "  House  Party  "  and  the  "  Holidays." 

Two  Little  Knights  of  Kentucky. 

Who  Were  the  Little  Colonel's  Neighbors. 

In  this  volume  the  Little  Colonel  returns  to  us  like  an 
old  friend,  but  with  added  grace  and  charm.  She  is 
not,  however,  the  central  figure  of  the  story,  that  place 
being  taken  by  the  "  two  little  knights." 

Mildred's  Inheritance. 

A  delightful  little  stoiy  of  a  lonely  English  girl  who 
comes  to  America  and  is  befriended  by  a  sympathetic 
American  family  who  are  attracted  by  her  beautiful 
speaking  voice.  By  means  of  this  one  gift  she  is  en- 
abled to  help  a  school-girl  who  has  temporarily  lost  the 
use  of  her  eyes,  and  thus  finally  her  life  becomes  a  busy 
happy  one. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY* S 


By  ANNIE  FELLOWS  JOHNSTON  (Continued) 

Cicely  and  Other  Stories  for  Girls. 

The  readers  of  Mrs.  Johnston's  charming  juveniles 
will  be  glad  to  learn  of  the  issue  of  this  volume  for 
young  people. 

Aunt  'Liza's  Hero  and  Other  Stories. 

A  collection  of  six  bright  little  stories,  which  will 
appeal  to  all  boys  and  most  girls. 

Big  Brother. 

A  story  of  two  boys.  The  devotion  and  care  of 
Steven,  himself  a  small  boy,  for  his  baby  brother,  is  the 
theme  of  the  simple  tale. 

Ole  Mammy's  Torment. 

"Ole  Mammy's  Torment"  has  been  fitly  called  "a 
classic  of  Southern  life."  It  relates  the  haps  and  mis- 
haps of  a  small  negro  lad,  and  tells  how  he  was  led  by 
love  and  kindness  to  a  knowledge  of  the  right. 

The  Story  of  Dago. 

In  this  story  Mrs.  Johnston  relates  the  story  of  Dago* 
a  pet  monkey,  owned  jointly  by  two  brothers.  Dago 
tells  his  own  story,  and  the  account  of  his  haps  and  mis- 
haps is  both  interesting  and  amusing. 

The  Quilt  That  Jack  Built. 

A  pleasant  little  story  of  a  boy's  labor  of  love,  and 
how  it  changed  the  course  of  his  life  many  years  after 
it  was  accomplished. 

Flip's  Islands  of  Providence. 

A  story  of  a  boy's  life  battle,  his  early  defeat,  gad  h\9 
final  triumph,  well  worth  the  reading. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 


By  EDITH  ROBINSON 

A  Little  Puritan's  First  Christmas. 

A  Story  of  Colonial  times  in  Boston,  telling  how 
Christmas  was  invented  by  Betty  Sewall,  a  typical  child 
of  the  Puritans,  aided  by  her  brother  Sam. 

A  Little  Daughter  of  Liberty. 

The  author  introduces  this  story  as  follows : 
"  One  ride  is  memorable  in  the  early  history  of  the 
American  Revolution,  the  well-known  ride  of  Paul 
Revere.  Equally  deserving  of  commendation  is  another 
ride,  —  the  ride  of  Anthony  Severn,  —  which  was  no  les? 
historic  in  its  action  or  memorable  in  its  consequences." 

A  Loyal  Little  Maid. 

A  delightful  and  interesting  story  of  Revolutionary 
days,  in  which  the  child  heroine,  Betsey  Schuyler% 
renders  important  services  to  George  Washington. 

A  Little  Puritan  Rebel. 

This  is  an  historical  tale  of  a  real  girl,  during  the 
time  when  the  gallant  Sir  Harry  Vane  was  governor  of 
Massachusetts. 

A  Little  Puritan  Pioneer. 

The  scene  of  this  story  is  laid  in  the  Puritan  settle- 
ment at  Charlestown. 

A  Little  Puritan  Bound  Girl. 

A  story  of  Boston  in  Puritan  days,  which  is  of  great 
interest  to  youthful  readers. 

A  Little  Puritan  Cavalier. 

The  story  of  a  "  Little  Puritan  Cavalier  "  who  tried 
with  all  his  boyish  enthusiasm  to  emulate  the  spirit  and 
ideals  of  the  dead  Crusaders. 

A  Puritan  Knight  Errant. 

The  story  tells  of  a  young  lad  in  Colonial  times  who 
endeavored  to  carry  out  the  high  ideals  of  the  knights 
of  olden  days. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  OUIDA  {Louise  de  la  Ramie) 

A  Dog  Of  Flanders  :  A  Christmas  Story. 
Too  well  and  favorably  known  to  require  description. 

The  Nurnberg  Stove. 

This  beautiful  story  has  never  before  been  published 
at  a  popular  price. 

By  FRANCES  MARGARET  FOX 

The  Little  Giant's  Neighbours. 

A  charming  nature  story  of  a  "  little  giant "  whos* 
neighbours  were  the  creatures  of  the  field  and  garden. 

Farmer  Brown  and  the  Birds. 

A  little  story  which  teaches  children  that  the  birds 
are  man's  best  friends. 

Betty  of  Old  Mackinaw. 

A  charming  story  of  child-life,  appealing  especially  to 
the  little  readers  who  like  stories  of  "  real  people." 

Brother  Billy. 

The  story  of  Betty's  brother,  and  some  further  ad- 
ventures of  Betty  herself. 

Mother  Nature's  Little  Ones. 

Curious  little  sketches  describing  the  early  lifetime, 
or  "  childhood,"  of  the  little  creatures  out-of-doors. 

How  Christmas  Came  to  the  Mul« 
vaneys. 

A  bright,  lifelike  little  story  of  a  family  of  poor  chil- 
dren, with  an  unlimited  capacity  for  fun  and  mischief. 
The  wonderful  never-to-be  forgotten  Christmas  that 
came  to  them  is  the  climax  of  a  series  of  exciting  inci- 
dents. 


COSY  CORNER  SERIES 


By  MISS  MULOCK 

The  Little  Lame  Prince. 

A  delightful  story  of  a  little  boy  who  has  many  ad- 
ventures by  means  of  the  magic  gifts  of  his  fairy  god- 
mother. 

Adventures  of  a  Brownie, 

The  story  of  a  household  elf  who  torments  the  cook 
and  gardener,  but  is  a  constant  joy  and  delight  to  the 
children  who  love  and  trust  him. 

His  Little  Mother. 

Miss  Mulock's  short  stories  for  children  are  a  constant 
source  of  delight  to  them/  and  "  His  Little  Mother,"  in 
this  new  and  attractive  dress,  will  be  welcomed  by  hosts 
of  youthful  readers. 

Little  Sunshine's  Holiday. 

An  attractive  story  of  a  summer  outing.  "  Little  Sun- 
shine "  is  another  of  those  beautiful  child-characters  for 
whiqh  Miss  Mulock  is  so  justly  famous. 

By   MARSHALL    SAUNDERS 

For  His  Country. 

A  sweet  and  graceful  story  of  a  little  boy  who  loved 
his  country;  written  with  that  charm  which  has  endeared 
Miss  Saunders  to  hosts  of  readers. 

Nita,  the  Story  of  an  Irish  Setter. 

In  this  touching  little  book,  Miss  Saunders  shows  how 
dear  to  her  heart  are  all  of  God's  dumb  creatures. 

Alpatok,   the  Story  of  an    Eskimo 
Dog. 

Alpatok,  an  Eskimo  dog  from  the  far  north,  was  stolen 
from  his  master  and  left  to  starve  in  a  strange  city,  but 
was  befriended  and  cared  for,  until  he  was  able  to  re- 
turn to  his  owner. 


L.  C.  PAGE  AND  COMPANY'S 


By  WILL  ALLEN  DROMGOOLE 

The  Farrier's  Dog  and  His  Fellow. 

This  story,  written  by  the  gifted  young  Southern 
woman,  will  appeal  to  all  that  is  best  in  the  natures  of 
the  many  admirers  of  her  graceful  and  piquant  style. 

The  Fortunes  of  the  Fellow. 

Those  who  read  and  enjoyed  the  pathos  and  charm 
of  "  The  Farrier's  Dog  and  His  Fellow  "  will  welcome 
the  further  account  of  the  adventures  of  Baydaw  and 
the  Fellow  at  the  home  of  the  kindly  smith. 

The  Best  of  Friends. 

This  continues  the  experiences  of  the  Farrier's  dog  and 
his  Fellow,  written  in  Miss  Dromgoole's  well-known 
charming  style. 

Down  in  Dixie. 

A  fascinating  story  for  boys  and  girls,  of  a  family  of 
Alabama  children  who  move  to  Florida  and  grow  up  in 
the  South. 


By  MARIAN  W.  WILDMAN 

Loyalty  Island. 

An  account  of  the  adventures  of  four  children  and 
their  pet  dog  on  an  island,  and  how  they  cleared  their 
brother  from  the  suspicion  of  dishonesty. 

Theodore  and  Theodora. 

This  is  a  story  of  the  exploits  and  mishaps  of  two  mil* 
chievous  twins,  and  continues  the  adventures  of  the 
interesting  group  of  children  in  "  Loyalty  Island." 


